Bloody Blades
by Benstudios
Summary: Death follows a particular Gallade. Can he find love in despair? Really slow uploads. Don't get your hopes up.
1. Prologue

Author: I do not own Pokémon, or any of that stuff.

***

Benstudios: Okay guys; let's get ready for a fan fiction!

BenHill: Oh god…

Benstudios: Jesus, it's not going to be that bad!

BenHill: But it's going to have _romance_!

Benstudios: Yeah, well some people like that! Anyway, it's going to be adventure filled as well!

BenHill: Still, how are you going to pull that off? It's your first fic!

Benstudios: I am gonna wing it, here goes…

***

**Dace's POV**

I woke to the noise of Gus sleeping. It was as though he used 'snore' outside of battle. Looking at the watch that I kept inside my bag, I realized it was late afternoon. Unfortunately, we were late.

Walking over to Gus, a Snorlax I had met on my travels (and befriended), I shouted in his ear:

"WAKE UP, I FOUND A TREE MADE OUT OF CANDY!"

Hearing this, Gus immediately jumped up, surprising me once again with his agility. To me, it did not seem right that something so large and bulky could move so nimbly.

"Where?" Asked Gus, his interest making his eyes sparkle.

"I was lying; now let's get a move on."

"Oh… Wait, what? Move? It must be nine in the morning! No way am I moving. I need more sleep."

"Um… I'm not sure how I should put this, but it's 6 in the evening."

"Ah."

With a little more persuasion, Gus and I eventually got walking again, towards our destination, the Tag team Dual we had signed up for to test our strengths against others. Me, being a Gallade, would deliver powerful and fast attacks, while Gus absorbed hits, and slowly but surely wore the opposing team down in a war of attrition, using the move Rest to his advantage.

But, that was not to be.

***  
_2 hours later_  
***

As we walked through the forest we had entered, I started to hear noises that were definitely out of place.

For a start, there were gunshots.

"Hey Gus, can you hear those?"

"Yeah, but only just"

We started making our way towards the noise, curiosity making us forget the tournament. As we looked over the crest of a hill, what I saw stunned me.

What looked like a bipedal feline was being attacked by literally hundreds of humans. The… thing, it had to be called, had two necks, one like a normal neck, and another that curved from just behind its head, attaching itself to the top of his back. It had a purple tale, waving slightly to and fro, a gesture that I took signified annoyance. I was right.

(LEAVE ME IN PEACE, YOU DAMNED HUMANS!)

That shout, which I instantly recognized as Telepathy, came from the strange creature before me.

"Hey, that guy psychic speaks, just like you!" Stated Gus.

"No… really? I would never be able to tell."

"Well, luckily you have me to point it out to you!" He replied, totally missing the sarcasm.

Being a Gallade, I too could use telepathy to speak to people, which had made it easy to converse with my past trainer. I decided to use it now.

(Hey, you!) I 'whispered' to the feline.

Now, when you use telepathy, you can choose who you send it to by 'selecting' those people. You do this by targeting the Aura of another Pokémon or person. I chose to speak to the strange being.

When he heard me, his tail twitched slightly, which I took to show surprise.

(Whoever that is, get out of here now.) The thing said.

(Firstly,) I needed to know who he was! So I had to ask him, (who are you?)

(… My name is Mewtwo.)

***

Authors Notes:

Sorry for the short chapter, the next one will be longer, I assure you.


	2. Fight Time

**Authors Note: I DON'T OWN POKEMON!!!**

*******

**Benstudios: Okay, the first chapter was pretty short, so I might end up making it a prologue.  
BenHill: I don't like this.  
Benstudios: Jesus Christ, Why not?  
BenHill: Because it's a fan fiction.  
**_***James (a mudkip) and Jake (a bulbasaur) enter through a cat flap*  
**_**Benstudios: Hi guys!  
Benstudios: Help me take care of Ben.  
BenHill: Wait… Why are you all staring at me like that?  
*Ben backs up to the wall*  
Benstudios: Okay, while you guys finish with him, I'll work on the fanfiction.**

*******

**Mewtwo's POV**

I paused. Should I tell them? Of all the Pokémon that had to stumble across me, why did it have to be two of the more helpful, good-willed ones? Why not a Gastly? But at least it wasn't a pair of Lucarios, which would have rushed to my aid without a thought.

Their Auras showed that they were a Gallade and a Snorlax. Both were incredibly rare in the wild. And why were they travelling together? Well, I decided to tell them my name, not knowing the consequences.

(… My name is Mewtwo.)

I felt the Gallade's Aura suddenly spike with a confusing mix of emotions. The most prominent were surprise, confusion and fear. Had he possibly known of me already? The Snorlax's Aura remained the same, but curiosity now tinged its outer edges.

My ears were much more sensitive than any humans, which allowed me to hear what the Snorlax said next.

"I haven't heard of him before. I think we should help him."

(NO!) I shouted.

(We should listen to him…) The Gallade said, hostility evident in its voice.

"Well I am going to help!"

Before me or the Gallade could do anything, the Snorlax leapt from his position behind the hill to land next to me. I was surprised. They weren't usually that fast.

"Damn it, get back here Gus!" The Gallade shouted. Then, seeming to realize his position, he jumped out too. It was then that I noticed just how rare this one was.

It was a released Gallade. I could tell because it was wearing human clothes, what some might call a 'Matrix Suit' after the clothes that a man named Neo wore in a movie called The Matrix. It was black and shiny, looking like a big overcoat. He also had a Mind Plate Around his neck.

He also looked incredibly powerful.

"Damn, okay. We'll help this… Abomination… to escape, then we'll get out of here."

What did the Gallade have against me? Why was he prejudiced? All these questions would have to be answered later.

"Sure thing Dace."

So, Dace was the Gallade's name.

"Okay Pokémon, step away from Mewtwo. We will not hurt you if you back down."

(No, we will not retreat) Dace broadcast using telepathy. The human looked unsurprised, and promptly let out all his Pokémon. All 5 of them. The rest of the humans followed suit, so that the three of us were facing roughly 250 Pokémon. I doubted even I could take that many on.

But Dace, as I know now, was even then full of surprises.

**Dace's POV**

Damn it, Damn it, Damn it! Why did Gus keep on dragging me into situations like this?

But I didn't have much more time for thought, as the battle erupted all around me. Before Gus or I could do anything, Mewtwo sent out a Psy Wave that blew back the entire front wave of the advancing Pokémon. Most were knocked out, but I saw some who either got back up, or lay in a tangle of limbs.

From this, it looked like we were engaged in a fight, to the death.

Most of the time, this didn't happen. Most people were happy to let their opponents faint, then let them lie. But that was not going to happen here.

I leapt at the nearest Pokémon, a Medicham. We were not evenly matched.

As it leapt at me with a High Jump Kick, I ducked underneath and used a Psycho Cut upwards, sending him upwards even higher. I then leapt up to be level with him, and used cut to separate his head from his body. I landed, and was charged by numerous other Pokémon.

Just before we engaged, time seemed to freeze.

I saw Gus, a Hyper Beam shooting from his mouth. I saw a Hitmonchan, Machamp, Golduck, Onix and a Swampert all heading for him. Mewtwo was hovering a few feet above the ground, his eyes glowing. All the Pokémon around him were sent sprawling, their spines broken. In front of me, I saw a Machop, Venasaur, Steelix and two Glalies. Then time returned to normal, and I slammed into the Machop. I sent him flying with a Thunder Punch, and then jumped up high as the Venasaur used Vine Whip. When I landed, I rushed one of the Glalies, hitting it with a Drain Punch. Using the health I absorbed to fortify my energy, I swayed aside as one of the Venasaur's vines crashed into the ground where I had been a millisecond before.

I leapt towards the grass-type, hitting the flower on its back with a Psycho Cut. As it was battered to the Ground under me, the Steelix and remaining Glalie charged me. The Steelix used Chomp, at the same time as the Glalie used Ice Beam. I was struck in the back by the Ice Beam, but managed to avoid the Steelix's jaws. I stood up, and noticed more Pokémon joining the ones that were already fighting me. A Sneasel, Pidgeotto, Fearow and Gyarados were the more prominent arrivals.

Prominent because I knew, that each and every one of them had an advantage against me.

I took a deep breath, and settled into the Bajiquan Stance I had been taught.

**Gus's POV**

Why were we fighting anyway? I absentmindedly thought as I used another Hyper Beam. The Pokémon we were fighting weren't even our equal in level, or skill. I used Body Slam on half of the Pokémon before me, crushing them with my weight. Quickly, I jumped up again, only to be hit in the stomach with a Karate Chop from a nearby Machoke. I didn't feel a thing.

I used another Hyper Beam, this time aimed directly at the fighting-type in front of me. When the beam finished leaving my mouth, I saw that the Machoke had made a hole that looked about 12 foot deep.

I looked up, and saw a lot more Pokémon running at me.

I did the only thing I could.

I used Rest.

Now, when a Pokémon uses Rest, he is still aware of what's around him or her. He/she can't move voluntarily, but can sense what's going on around his/her vicinity. So I knew the precise time to use Sleep Talk.

**Dace's POV**

Suddenly, a huge wave drenched the entire battlefield, and I recognized the attack to be Surf. Quickly curling up into a ball, I prepared for the attack. As the water hit me, I was sent flying, smacking into the side of a tree. I quickly stuck my elbow blades in, and turned to face away from the trunk. Looking down, I saw that every Pokémon on the battlefield had been affected, everyone thrown about by the veritable tsunami that had swept through the battle.

The humans had been just outside the moves range, but a few had been hit and were soaked.

A sudden silence covered the area, as everyone tried to get back onto their feet, or back into the air. I searched for the source of the move, and saw Gus, sleeping. He had obviously used Sleep Talk. To devastating effect it seemed.

Quickly, I jumped onto a Steelix, possibly the same one as before, and punched it squarely on the head using Drain Punch. This time, I had to use all the energy I obtained to heal myself. The Surf had taken a lot out of me, as well as the previous battles. I looked toward the Abomination. He seemed to be fine. Unfortunately.

I became aware that all the surviving Pokémon had been returned to their Pokéballs. I jumped down from the tree, and walked over to Gus. Shaking him awake, I noticed something.

My arms were covered with blood, and so were my elbow blades. Noticing the sticky feeling on my chest, it seemed that my front was splattered with it as well. Gus's middle was covered with the red substance, showing that he had been a lot more vicious with his Body Slams than usual.

Mewtwo, it seemed, had killed at range, so there were only a few droplets of red on his gray coat.

We regrouped at the top of the hill, and looked towards the humans.

The leader, who had spoken before the battle, looked a bit uneasy now. And he should be, we just killed and knocked out about half of their army. He regained his composure, hiding his emotions underneath a poker face.

"Men, draw your guns"

And suddenly, the three of us were staring down the barrels of about one hundred human guns.

*******

**Benstudios: Okay, I'm done, how about you guys?  
James: I think we've done very well.  
*Ben has been duck taped to the ceiling, staring daggers at us*  
BenHIll: HurrMmmmHurrMMMMMMM!  
Jake: I think we did very well.**

*******

**Authors Note: Okay, that was a longer chapter, and brings the fiction to roughly 2000 words.**

**There we go, a long chapter.**

**That didn't hurt too much.**


	3. Memories and another Tally

**Authors Note: For those ignorant people, I will say again – I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON!**

*******

**BenHill: Hurm-Hmm. HumHmmm MMM hm.  
Benstudios: I can almost understand him.  
Jake: More duck tape?  
Benstudios: Yeah, why not?  
James: This is fun. I need to go to bed. See ya!  
Benstudios and Jake: Bye!  
*James goes out of the room, and sneaks into Benstudios computer room*  
James: Let's see what's new on the Fic…**

*******

**Dace's POV**

Guns…

Why did these humans have guns? Had they known that their Pokémon would be hurt? If they had, then why would they send them out anyway?

All these questions crowded in my head, vying to be the first one to be asked. And they would be, but later. Quickly, I leapt up into a tree, just as they started firing.

The noise those guns create, frightened me. I had not felt fear for nearly 12 years. Not since… I didn't want to think of it now. It wasn't the time. The noise, it was like listening to 12 Golems using explosion. And that was only one of them. I didn't know what types the guns were, but I had seen many types.

Suddenly, bullets tore through the leaves around me, and I had to jump to another tree. They followed my movements, and I had to move faster and faster. I had stamina, and lots of it. But what I didn't have was cover. I was running out of that.

Then, I heard a soft _whumpf_ and the silent screech of air parting at high speeds. Then I saw the missile, heading straight for me, leaving a trail of smoke as it travelled towards its final destination.

"Please… Help us."

I looked around, and saw to my dismay that a family of Starly were looking up at me with fear, and sadness in their eyes. Then, I noticed the smallest member of their family, a hatchling. It was little more a fluff ball with eyes. It was a child, and was about to be killed by a humans death machine. My mind flashed back, to the day when I had lost a family member…

"_Dace, I…," Rasped Dorner, Dace's father. "I am not going… to live much longer. You must make sure your mother, and brother… gets out of here alive."_

_All his words were punctuated with pauses, spawned from coughs, which pushed up blood. Dorner's legs had been blown off when he had tried to stop a grenade from killing the family. It had been thrown through one of the windows of their tree-hut, shattering the glass. He had been about to kick it back, before it detonated and blew his legs off, shards of shrapnel entering his white skin. Still, they hadn't reached the rest of the family, and for that he had thanked Arceus._

"_Quickly boy, get them out of here, alive. I… wish they had not found us now. And Dace… Remember me."_

_Dorner died, his Aura getting fainter, and fainter, until it disappeared all together. Dace shook his father, he had to wake up! His dad was strong, and was the one who had stopped the humans that wished to take down the forest, shredding it and turning it into… whatever the humans made it into. The humans were back now, and they had weapons that Dace had seen… kill. The concept had been foreign to Dace's mind then, and he couldn't understand it. He had been too young, still a Ralts. He just couldn't accept that most of his friends, and his father, were… gone._

"_Dad?"_

"_Dad!"_

The flashback ended, and I shook my head. Now was not the time to remember. I suddenly felt tied to the hatchling, and I knew then and there that I must not allow it to die. The death of a child had to be avoided, at all costs. My Father had known that.

Jumping, I landed on top of the explosive device, and then performed another jump, pushing the missile off its course, towards the ground. Bullets followed me, away from the Starlys. Quickly, I told them to get out of the area telepathically, before I once again turned my full attention to my survival. I landed on top of one of the humans, and immediately the guns stopped firing. I had quickly figured out that they wouldn't shoot their own people.

The ones with more initiative reacted quickly, charging me with their weapons held high, intending to use them as clubs. I jumped away again, and put on an extra burst of psychic speed to push me towards the left, the opposite way the humans expected me to go.

Using the seconds of respite this gave me, I surveyed the ground below me. Out of the side of my eye, I also saw three small, grey birds rise from a nearby treetop, and fly away.

Mewtwo had managed to raise a Barrier, and the human's bullets were sparking harmlessly off it. Gus was behind the Psychic wall as well.

Using another burst of psychic energy, I pushed myself towards them, landing a few feet behind Gus. Ignoring sounds of the guns, and the metallic noises they made when they hit the Barrier, I walked up to the Abomination.

(Why do we stay?) I asked, allowing coldness to seep into my tone. (Why can't you teleport us away?)

(I cannot teleport us out of here, because some of those humans are holding things they call 'Teleport homers'. They tap into the stream of energy a teleporting Pokémon is using, and redirect it towards them. So if I teleported, we would end up in their midst.)

(Okay. I have an idea to get id of those Teleport homers. They will make the Pokémon appear right next to them, correct?)

(Correct.)

(Okay. Teleport me.)

Understanding dawned in his lavender eyes, just as the question formed on his lips. He understood my intent, but a flicker of unease rolled across his face. But it was gone, almost as soon as it had arrived.

(Prepare yourself. On the count of three I will teleport you.)

As soon as he said three, I was in amongst the humans.

My blades whipped out from my elbows, and I spun in a tight circle, killing the humans standing next to me. Quickly glancing at the ground, I saw it attached to one of the felled humans' belt, and stomped on it, breaking it. I was then teleported back behind the Barrier.

(I shall teleport you again, just as soon as the other devices start working.)

And so the game was played. I was teleported as soon as the devices had charged, and soon enough the humans realized their peril. Instead of holding onto the teleport homers, they threw them at their feet, stamping or shooting at the devices.

As soon as the last one was destroyed, Mewtwo teleported us…

Directly in front of the humans.

I realized, too late, that there had been a thrown teleport homer, and it had landed in between us, and them. Smack bang in the middle.

They opened fire, before me or Mewtwo could do anything. But not before Gus could do anything. He astounded me for the last time with his speed and his loyalty to his friends. He leapt in front of us, his bulk easily blocking us from the humans.

And the bullets.

They ripped into him, spurts of blood soaking the ground in front of him. His thick fat could protect him from attacks from other Pokémon, but not attacks from high – speed metal slugs.

(GUS!)

I had told myself that I would steel myself against this, I had told myself this 4 times now.

But each time, the pain was fresh. And it burned inside me.

I could already tell that the spike on my head had already gone a shade paler. It had happened four times before. Now, I was sure that it was pure white.

"Ugh, guys… get rid of that thing."

(He means the teleport homer Dace.) Mewtwo said quickly, shock evident in his voice.

My mind responded automatically, and I punched down, electricity crackling around my fist. I slammed the infernal device into the ground, and we were immediately whisked away.

**Mewtwo's POV**

As the Snorlax placed himself in-between us and the hail of bullets, I noticed that the Spike on top of Dace's head… had turned white!

I hadn't noticed it before, but his head spike was very pale.

I had read somewhere that human hair can turn white if they have witnessed terrible, shocking events. Had this Gallade, had so many horrible experiences, that what he had instead of hair, had turned alabaster white?

I quickly told him to destroy the device, I was already preparing for another teleport.

And then we were gone.

And we appeared back at my lair, as it was.

Immediately, I levitated Gus over to the operating table I had in the building I inhabited, for now anyway. The room we were in looked a lot like an operating centre, and it was one as it happened. But now was not the time to delay, for if we didn't act quickly then Gus would surely die.

"Um… guys? I feel… really… really… tired… I'm going to go to sleep."

(NO!)

The shout sounded like it came from the depths of hell. I turned, looking at the Gallade that had issued the pained cry. He had said using his own voice, and his psychic one. He had his eyes slightly lowered, and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

His aura was spiking rapidly, all kinds of feelings surfacing, but the most prominent was a strange one.

Acceptance.

He looked up, and there was a light in his eyes.

"He isn't going to last much longer."

(What are you talking about?) I questioned him, confused and angry.

"I am talking, about my dearest friend, not surviving the next thirty minutes."

His voice, usually a musical sound, sounded like sandpaper. It was rough, and each word sounded like a cough.

(How do you know this?) I was starting to feel the stirrings of… fear? Maybe. It felt more like queasiness at the moment.

"I just do." He said, the finality in his words was palpable.

"Hey… Dace… everything… it's going grey"

Dace whirled around, and ran to his friend's side.

(Gus, forgive me.)

And his right elbow blade sliced through the Snorlax's neck.

(WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!) I ran over, shoving Dace away from the Snorlax. He fell, landing with a thump. He didn't get up. I didn't care.

I stared at the headless body, blood spurting from the death blow, and the bullet holes.

I realized then what the Gallade had done.

He had spared his friend further pain.

I heard a sound, and snapped my head around, to look behind me.

Dace stood up, and using his right elbow blade, added another… tally, to the four that were already on his left arm. He had removed his coat, and I could see that he was covered in gore. It hadn't seeped through his coat, but the parts it had hit on him, were soaking his white fur red.

Above each of the tallies, my eyes picked up letters.

M, B, F, T and a new one he was carving in just now, G.

His face showed no pain, but a strange relief, as though he had just performed a sacred task.

(Do you know if there is a pond near here? Or a bath?)

I didn't answer immediately, I was still in shock.

(Answer me Abomination)

I reeled. How? How had he known?

(Um… Walk into the corridor, second door on the left.)

He left without a word. I stared at the body in front of me. I used my psychic powers to teleport all the blood away. How could the Gallade be so cold? How?

There were so many questions. All were crowding in my head, but I would have to ask them later. Then, I heard crying. It was the Gallade.

**Dace's POV**

Damn it! Why couldn't I learn?

I'd had four chances to learn, but now a fifth line had been added to my forearm.

My tears came, hard and fast. I tried to keep my sobs down, but I couldn't. Why? Why did so many have to die? My mother, my brother, my father, Teresa… and now Gus; five had died. Because of me. Because I couldn't help having company.

Unbidden, a memory surfaced…

_(Get behind me children!) Dace's mother hollered._

_The two Ralts' rushed behind their mother, hiding behind her billowing gown. A wave of psychic energy burst forth from her hands, knocking one of the human invaders out of the door frame. Another popped its head up, only to be thrust out of the tree. The blood pooling from Dorner's torso was still fresh._

_(LEAVE US ALONE!)_

_The psychic shriek pierced the minds of everyone around her, the humans, the two Ralts cowering behind her and the nearby Pokémon. _

_A chorus of laughter echoed up from the ground, and the floor underneath them tilted. The humans had sawed through the tree._

_Lara grabbed her children, and levitated through the door. She then carried the two young brothers to a nearby clearing. She placed them on the ground, and kneeling, kissed each on its head._

_(My young ones, my beautiful sons. Live strong, live well. Remember to watch over each other.)_

_She turned and stood. The mourning sun reflected off her dress, making her seem to shimmer, lending a beauty to her that neither Dace nor his brother had seen. _

_She exited the clearing and returned to the wreck of her house. Dace watched unseen from the bushes, as she approached the humans. Raising her arms, she blasted them all backwards, away from the house. She raised her arms above her head, but before she could unleash her attack, a bullet was fired, and entered her gut, punching out her back with a shower of red. Falling to her knees, she summoned all the remaining power she had left._

_And with a sound like five thousand pieces of paper being ripped, opened a small black hole in the midst of the loggers._

_Everything within a kilometre was sucked towards the hole, but before it could swallow anything other than the loggers, she closed it. Then, she crawled towards the clearing._

_Half-way back, she fell onto her hands, and coughed up blood. It stained the ground in front of her._

_She gave a last look of ultimate love to her sons, and fell onto the ground._

_And perished…_

I stepped into the bath I had made, still weeping, feeling the pain of this old wound, and the others.

***

**James: Aww… that's so sad!  
Benstudios: James!  
James: Oh shi-  
*Benstudios stops James from saying anything else by lunging at him*  
Benstudios: Reading my work before I allow you to is a federal offence in this house! I'll keeeel you!  
James: NO! I'm sorry! Please, forgive me!!!!!  
Benstudios: Never!  
*Jake walks into the room, looks at what's going on, and walks back out*  
Jake: By the way, BenHill said he doesn't mind the fanfiction.  
Benstudios: WHAT???  
*Ben runs out of the computer room, over to where BenHill is taped to the ceiling*  
Benstudios: Okay, we can let you down now.  
*Benstudios's arm start glowing purple, and so does his elbow blade, before he slices through all the tape*  
*Dace walks in*  
Dace: Okay. I'll leave right now.  
*Dace walks straight back out*  
BenHill: Now that I am down, I will say this. You're all fags.  
*A few minutes later, BenHill is duck taped the ceiling again, but with his mouth uncovered.*  
Benstudios: We'll let you down when you think of us in a much more reasonable manner.**

*******

**Author's Note: Few… that took three days.**

**I think I'm getting better at these fanfictions.**

**And people, comments are appreciated.**


	4. R'n'R

**Authors Note: Okay, third chapter. (The first was a prologue) Also, I don't own Pokémon. And, please read and review! The reviews make me type faster.**

*******

**Benstudios: This fanfiction is going better than expected.  
BenHill: Yeah, it's actually pretty epic.  
Benstudios: Why, thank you.**

*******

**Dace's POV**

I spent the next few days going to pieces, and everything seemed to be a blur. I think I stayed in the same room for about five days.

Mewtwo came in three times a day, with food. I thanked him each time, forgetting in my grief what he was.

After about a week, I was stopped grieving, crying and generally feeling sad.

I felt a strange melancholy, as though I had managed to accept another death.

Eventually, I decided to explore my surroundings.

I found that I was in a huge building, twenty stories high, and about an acre at its base. There were eighteen stories, because there was a level for each type of Pokémon, ground, electric, grass etcetera. The floor in the middle was given over to Mewtwo himself, allowing him to go around his business at the centre of everything. The one at the bottom was for general communion, where all the Pokémon could go to meet others. The one at the very top was where all the food was the eating area. It seemed Mewtwo had hired human chefs to make food here. 'Hired' meaning 'brain-washed'. The seventh floor up was inhabited by psychics. That was where I had been the past week.

Getting up off of my bed on the eighth day of my stay, I decide to meet some of the Pokémon here, and find out why there were so many of them in this building. I decided to start with the Psychics, and soon found out I was the only Gallade on the entire floor, and the only one in the entire building wearing human clothes, if you excuse the Machokes and Machamps, and the Pokémon that had ribbons attached to them. I learnt this from a Hypno called Frola. She was happy to give me this information, and also told me that the Pokémon here where free to wonder wherever they liked.

Thanking her, I left and headed down towards the bottom floor. There were two ways to get around, by taking the stairs and using the teleport pads spread about each floor. I took the stairs down.

Once I got down to the bottom floor, I saw it was the by far the biggest of all twenty. I wasn't tired in the least by walking down the seven flights of stairs to reach the bottom.

I just leapt down the middle, through the hole, and landed on my left hand, and my feet, creating a small crater. Getting up, I dusted myself off, and walked through the swinging doors.

I was greeted by an amazing spectacle.

There were about seventy Pokémon in a circle, surrounding two combatants.

An Infernape, and a Dragonite were squaring off, circling each other in the middle. I walked through the crowd, and got right up to the front of the circle of spectators.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything when I said your mom was fat." Said the Infernape, making me realize the cause of this dispute. It always amazed me how Infernapes could get into trouble. Shaking my head, I turned away. As the fight broke out, Pokémon began to drift away from the crowd, sitting on the settees that dotted the place like pimples on an adolescent humans face. I went to sit on one of them, part of a circle of five settees that had a table in the middle.

Just as I got within arms reach of the first settee, I ducked, just as the Dragonite was sent flying onto the table, making it topple under his weight. I turned, and saw the Infernape laughing.

"Sorry man, but get someone else to fight for you! You may be a dragon, but I'm a level one double oh."

I turned to the Dragonite, and asked him if he was alright. He replied by sighing, and got up.

As he turned to go, I caught his arm, and turned him around.

(What's that Infernapes problem?)

"Oh, Brayzen? He just likes to pick fights. But, he has a reason to. He's the second strongest around here, apart from Mewtwo, of course."

(Really.) I looked at Brayzen, and walked up to him.

Broadcasting my telepathy, I challenged him to a fight, thinking it would take my mind off things. Since I couldn't get to the Tag team doubles now, I though I might as well have a battle of some kind.

"Want a fight? Sure, I'll give you one." Brayzen answered, arrogance and cockiness radiating from him. Clearly, he hadn't lost a battle in a long time.

I was going to change that.

(Good.)

Suddenly, all the settees and tables were pushed to the sides of the rooms, as Mewtwo teleported in and used his telekinesis.

(This fight deserves to be seen by everyone here.) He shouted, and suddenly all the Pokémon in the building were teleported onto the couches. Mewtwo himself floated above the custom made 'arena'.

Brayzen and I faced off. We circled each other wearily, taking in each others posture, and trying to predict what the other would do.

Suddenly, he poked out his tongue, and waggled it at me, taunting me.

Not really excepting me to do anything, he was surprised when I leapt straight for him, my elbow blades unsheathed. It was only his speed that kept me from ending the battle right there and then. He dodged to the left, just as my blades lacerated the space he had just been with multiple Psycho cuts. I whirled to face him, my coat billowing out behind me.

His cheeks puffed up, and a stream of fire engulfed me. I knew it wouldn't harm my suit, so I allowed it to hit me. The Flamethrower move didn't hurt very much, and he figured that out, too late. I rushed through the flames, straight for him, and landed a Thunder punch on his midriff, the electrical discharge sending him flying backwards into a wall but not through it. My right fist was still crackling with electricity, and now so was my left one. I charged him again, but he leapt up and away, just as both my thunder punches hit the already weakened wall, smashing it open.

Seemed like Mewtwo had a new front door.

I heard a sound behind me, and did a backwards summersault, time slowing down again as my battle-senses heightened. I saw the Infernape's left hand over his right, using Strength to try and slam me to the ground. As I completed my flip, I landed behind him, and time returned to normal.

I used Cut, slicing him across the back. He fell forward in a roll, and kept rolling, turning towards me with his Fire spin move at full power. As he neared me, it tuned into a Flare blitz, and both moves struck me before I could move out of the way, sending me flying. I turned in midair, hitting the wall with my feet, and using my elbow blades, climbed up onto the ceiling. Since this area was made to accommodate any type of Pokémon, except maybe a Wailord, the ceiling was shrouded in darkness, that's how high off the ground it was.

Looking up, Brayzen searched for me, but find me he could not.

Until a rushing sound was heard and-

**Mewtwo's POV**

I knew Brayzen was an antagonist, and was happy to see if he could defeat Dace.

After the first few minutes, Dace had managed to land two attacks, and so had Brayzen. Now, Dace was somewhere on the ceiling, among the Zubats, Golbats and Crobats inhabiting the dark places where their feet could grip the curves made especially for their kind. Suddenly, the _whoosh_ of parting air could be heard, and there he was.

I heard the Lopunny on my left sigh, and I knew right away she liked what she saw. He did certainly look impressive; he seemed to cut through the air, his dark coat billowing out behind him. His right hand was glowing, and as he neared the Infernape, it struck him, just as he looked up. Dace used Brayzen as a cushion, and rolled as well, to make sure the fall didn't hurt too much.

As he got up, the light covering his hand dissipated, flowing over his body, healing him. The fire-type tried to lift itself off the ground, but only got onto its hands and knees, before it fainted, knocked unconscious by the Drain punch.

I started to applaud him, and the rest of the Pokémon followed suit. Dace looked at us all, and swivelled his head, turning slowly, and saw that everyone was clapping, and a visible blush spread over his cheeks.

**Dace's POV**

They were… applauding my performance. I felt shyness, and a bit of pride rise inside me, and I knew I my cheeks were red.

(Everyone, I give you Dace.)

Damn that abomination! He had played me off against that Infernape like we were chess pieces. I didn't like to be toyed with. I started walking towards one of the teleporters, intending to get away quickly. I put on a burst of speed as I neared them, and stepped onto the pinkish one.

I was immediately teleported to the Psychic floor, and once there, I walked over to one of the bean bags. I sank into it, and allowed exhaustion to overtake me.

I felt the burn on my chest flare slightly, and pain reared its head, as my body succumbed to the torment it had been put through. Damn, that Flare Blitz had hurt. So had punching a wall. I looked at my knuckles, and saw some bruising.

"Um, excuse us."

I turned my head, and saw a Mudkip and a Bulbasaur.

(Yes?)

They looked at each other, and then looked at me, as though expecting me to shoot lighting from my eyes, and suddenly grow twenty feet tall. There looked at me, as though awed at being in the presence of some kind of god.

"Well, I'm Jake, and this is James." Stated the bulbasaur, its vines waving slightly in the air.

"We were wondering if you wanted any friends, 'cuz we see that you don't have many."

I looked at them, wondering if they knew what they were getting themselves into.

_Well, it's not like my __**friends**__ die, more my closest ones._ I thought to myself.

(Sure, why not)

"YAY!" They yelled, running at me.

I was up in a flash, turning to face them. Were they about to attack me? What was this?

"What? Why do you have you blades out? Do we have something behind us?" Asked James, a bit of fear in his voice.

I sheathed my blades, and sat back down. Why was I so paranoid? Oh, I know the answer to that one. Maybe it was because my life had been all action, reaction and death. Wait… that wasn't all true…

"_Hey, Dace follow me!" shouted Teresa from down the lane, and her Gallade ran up to her. She had caught him and his brother while out in Eternal forest, a strange place to find two Ralts'. She had looked at her Pokédex, and found they were about level thirty. She had thrown two Quick balls, and waited for the three _Bings_ that would signal a successful capture from both. After raising them both a level, she had shown a Dawn stone to both, and watched with amazement as the skirts they had been wearing, merged with their legs, and the legs themselves thickened and became more human._

_Then, the heads of the two had grown a thick spike that reached from just above their forehead, all the way to the base of their respective heads. She had been shocked somewhat, that the one that had named itself Dace had a light gray one. By the time the transformation had finished, they had both looked at her, somewhat expectantly. She had looked up at them, wondering why the one called Dace looked a good foot taller than his brother. She had shrugged, and promptly traded the Gallade that had not revealed its name to her friend Jess._

_She had kept Dace, because he was special, and because she felt a certain bond with him, like she had when she had first got her Chikorita from her Uncle Kell. He had looked at her, and clearly stated using telepathy, that he wished his name to remain 'Dace'._

_His voice was somewhat low, and had a certain gentleness shaping each word, as though he had though everything he had just said through a thousand times._

_The voice had made her feel calm and serene, and she had automatically replied in the affirmative. Her Meganium and Dace had gotten on well enough, and she was happy about that._

_At the moment, she was in the fairgrounds with Dace, because Meganium was healing at the Pokémon centre, having suffered at the hands of a fire-type user. Dace had managed to secure victory for her, through the cunning use of a drain punch. It seemed to be his favourite move, despite the fact that Gallades were famous for their Psycho Cuts._

_She had taken him shopping, and with the somewhat limitless money she had obtained from a distant relative, had given him many, many Iron, Carbos, Proteins and Zincs. He now was a lot stronger than any Pokémon his level had a right to be, with the legendaries being an exception._

_They were travelling through Sinnoh._

_She was heading for a big rollercoaster, one that allowed all humanoid Pokémon over a 1.40 m to enter. Dace was easily a 1.90, and had even found it hard getting into the seat._

_After they had gotten off, Dace had been sick, and stated that 'He wouldn't get onto one of those infernal contraptions even if someone gave him a million Poképounds._

_She had laughed, saying that they still had a whole fairground to go…_

I shook myself, pulling myself away from the past.

(Sorry about that, I was just a bit tense from the battle earlier.)

"Well," Jake said hesitantly, before continuing, "We were kind of glad you did own him like you did-"

(What does 'own' mean? I do not own his Pokéball.)

"Heh, it means 'completely and utterly crushing the enemy' or something." James told me, looking at Jake as though he had just committed all seven sins at once.

The two seemed to be friends already, and for this I envied them. At least their close friends weren't destined to die. But, now was not the time to think of my… affliction.

"You spend way too much time on that computer of yours."

Fleetingly, I wondered how a Pokémon with not hands managed to type, but I was interrupted by Mewtwo, who teleported into the room.

(I am going to ask you two to leave me and Dace alone. We need to have a little chat)

James and Jake turned obediently, and walked over to their separate teleporters.

"What." I asked him, acid dripping from my voice.

(I have been meaning to ask you, Dace, how you knew of me.)

I looked at him, and decided to tell him.

***

**Benstudios: There, another chapter up and ready to go.  
BenHill: I liked the last chapter better.  
Benstudios: Well, at least that means you like this one.**

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**Authors note: As before, please R 'n' R!**


	5. New Friends

**Authors note: Seriously people… read and review! Also, if you have noticed that there is no 'Bulba, Bulbasaur, Saur bul saur!' it is because I am converting all the Pokémon talk into English for you guys to read, but all the humans in the story can hear is the Pokémon saying its name over and over again.**

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**Benstudios: Well, last chapter Dace fought a level 100 Infernape. And won. Also, Mewtwo cornered Dace and asked him how he knew about him. And-  
BenHill, Jake, James, Dace and Charlotte: SHUT UP!  
Dace: Ben, you sound like a sports commentator, and also, you are making me seem like a paranoid emo in this Fanfiction.  
Benstudios: That'll change, I promise.  
Dace: Sometimes I can't tell whether you're being sarcastic or not…  
Benstudios: Me two…**

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**Dace's POV**

(I learnt of you from my mother. She told me stories of how an eyelash of Mew had been found, and humans had made,) I paused, wondering what the outcome of this would be, before continuing, (an Abomination. This Abomination had a name, Mewtwo. When I heard you say your name was thus, I was shocked.)

(That is to be expected. How could you have ever believed for a moment you would come across the creature your mother scared you to bed with?) answered Mewtwo, a wry smile on his face.

(My mother did not scare me to bed with stories of you, she told me of your exploits, how you had tried to destroy the entire human race, along with any Pokémon that stood in your way. That was enough to scare me at that age. She…she had the power to see things without having to use her eyes. She was gifted, and she used her gift to see why there had been such a surge of emotions one day. She cast out here consciousness, and saw you and mew turn a human into stone. The Pokémon watching the spectacle started to cry… and then she stopped watching. My father told me this.)

The Abomination looked visibly shocked for a moment before regaining his composure.

(What she saw, was-)

(I know it is true. Lara was not one to lie.)

Silence stood between us for about a minute, as he contemplated what I had said, and I waited for his reply.

(Do you know what I do in this building?) He asked me.

I paused. I hadn't been expecting this question, and I didn't know the answer either.

(I have no idea.) I said truthfully. For how could I? I had only been here for eight days, and seven of those days had been spent grieving.

(Pokémon enter this building, to live with a roof over their heads, to find more of their kind, and sometimes to heal themselves at the hospital that also takes up some of my room.) He told me.

(You know some of my past already. You know that I tried to destroy the world as we know it. I killed many humans, and was going to kill many more. But you seem to easily kill, as I noticed when you came across me in the woods. Now my days of being a destructive force are behind me. I am a philosopher and a healer now. But I am constantly attacked by an organisation I do not know of.)

I stared at him. How could he be a healer? He could not have possibly changed from a mass murderer, to a medicine man… could he? But these questions would have to go unanswered, for now.

(So,) I said, (you claim to be a healer and a philosopher. Yet I saw you kill. You killed without mercy, as much as I did.)

(Yes, and I wish to know why you willingly slaughtered the humans that had the teleport homers. Also, how you found it easy to kill that Medicham, and so many more besides.)

(You wouldn't understand.) I told him simply.

I turned to go, but he caught my arm. I jerked away, turning to look at him.

(Yes I would. I have been told things by Pokémon that were dying. I have lived long enough to know more things than most humans would know in their entire lives. I have witnesses events that disgusted me, and ones that make me feel like life, is worth everything we sacrifice to live it. I would under-)

(NO!) I shouted, cutting him off. He may have seen events that made life worth living, but he hadn't seen the horrors I had. He may have almost committed global genocide. But he had not seen his entire family die. How could he understand something that he had no experience with?

(You would never be able to understand what it's like!)

I turned away again, and this time, he didn't grab me. I ran to my room, and slammed the door behind me. Damn him. If it hadn't been for him, I would have gone through the entire day without having to think about Gus, Mother, father, my brother and my trainer.

I stayed in my room for awhile, about two hours. I meditated during that period, trying to get rid of all my unwanted emotions. I wasn't as good as a Medicham, but I was good enough. By the time I had finished, my sadness and rage had transcended into a slight melancholy, and I had almost returned to normal.

Almost.

I looked around, noticing that there were only a few Pokémon still here. Walking up to the nearest one, a Kadabra, I asked him where everyone was. He told me that for most, it was dinner, and all but those who did not feel like eating had gone up to the uppermost level of the facility. So, noticing I did indeed feel hungry, I used the teleporter to ascend to the top. Once there, I stood stock still. I was once again astounded by the amount of Pokémon there were. Shaking myself, I took a step forward, into the light. Since the teleporters rested beneath a slight overhang, I had been all but invisible before. As I stepped out, I was greeted with silent stares, from every single Pokémon. Except for the ones without eyes.

"Hey! Over here!"

Looking in the direction of the shout, I noticed a pair of green vines waving franticly in the air. Moving quickly, I made my way over to an off-white table, where Jake and James were both sitting. The grass-type retracted his vines, and picked up the metal fork that lay on the side of his plate. I noticed that everyone around us had given up staring at me, and were eating the food on the plates before them.

Again feeling a pang of hunger, I looked down at the food before me. It looked incredibly familiar…

_(What is this?) Dace asked, as he poked at the plate of _human_ food before him._

"_That is called spaghetti bolognaise, but some people call it spag boll. It's actually pretty tasty, and has been approved to be safe for Pokémon to eat." Teresa answered through a mouthful of food._

"_Teresa, speak with your mouth closed! That is very rude, and it is Dace's first day with you!" Teresa's mother, Laura scolded._

_Dace had been shocked when he had learnt the name of his trainer's mother, for it reminded him of his. After all, you only needed to take out the 'u'._

_He picked at the food in front of him using the fork he had been given, and realized that his hands where too wide to hold onto the fork, and that he had no opposable thumb to keep the fork in place. So, he simply used his telekinesis to pick up the knife and fork in front of him, and proceeded to eat without the use of his hands._

_The taste of the Spaghetti Bolognaise was like nothing else he had ever tasted._

_(Mmmmm…) Dace mumbled, and he though he might get addicted to this sought of food._

"_Dace just talked with his mouth full! Muuuuumm!"_

"_Look sweety, he used telepathy, and that doesn't count."_

"_Muumm!! That is so unfair…"_

As I shook myself back to reality, I once again utilized my powers for something else other than fighting. After I had finished, I started to talk with my two new 'friends'. I couldn't get too close to them though… because of what might happen. But still, we did have a pretty friendly conversation, but I did have to tell them not to ask me about my past. They seemed okay with it though, and I was thankful for that.

As we talked, I noticed that I was feeling a lot more at peace than when I had first come up here; the two Pokémon I was eating dinner with had so much optimism that it was infectious. I found myself laughing at one of their jokes, and I was surprised, because I hadn't laughed in years. It had been ages since I had been happy enough to laugh.

After we had finished eating, desert was served.

It was waffles and ice-cream, another thing I had eaten before. I quickly ate this, letting the contrasting warmth of the heated up waffle and the coolness of the ice-cream make me smile again. I vaguely thought that I had smiled more times tonight than I had in a long while. I stopped smiling eventually, as the taste of the two treats left me, and I felt strangely hollow. I shook off the feeling, and also started shivering slightly because the temperature had dropped. It was very late, and I guessed it was about midnight. I was starting to wish I had brought my coat with me. I had left it in my room because it hadn't been warm enough to wear it, at the time.

I told my two friends to wait a few minutes, and proceeded to walk towards the teleport pads. As I was about to step on the one to the Psychic floor, someone appeared from it with a slight _whumpf_. As the Pokémon stepped out, I noticed it was a Gardevoir. The aura surrounding the psychic in front of me showed it was a she. She looked at me, and for a split second, I felt a blush sweep across my face. Quickly, I ducked my head down, so she wouldn't be able to see. I was surprised the amount of red on it wasn't lighting up the immediate area. She moved off the teleport pad, and I stepped onto it, looking back over my shoulder as I did so. She was still looking at me, and she had a slight smile on her face. I felt that I had a smile on my face two, and I looked away again, and appeared onto the Psychic floor.

Who had that been? I felt foolish for smiling back, she had probably only looked at me that way because she had been at the fight between me and the Infernape. I cursed myself as I walked over to my room, wondering why I had acted that way. Why had I blushed when she'd looked at me?

My actions made no sense.

**Charlottes POV**

Okay, that had been a bit weird. I had felt a surge of emotions when I had seen him. His emotions had been confusing, a mix of happiness, and a strange sadness. When I had smiled at him in greeting, he had ducked his head trying to hide the blush on his face. But I could still tell he was embarrassed for some reason, because a new emotion had been added to the aura around him. I walked over to my normal place, wondering why he had been exceptionally tall.

Also, the spike on his head had been _white_. I sat down next to Jess, my Lopunny friend. She was usually animated beyond reason, but today, she seemed… dreamy. Wondering what was up with her, I asked her what was going on.

"Oh, it's just the new guy."

Oh dear. This was going to be bad. I was taking the 'new guy' was the Gallade I had just seen, judging from the way she was looking at the teleporter. Everyone had been at 'the fight' as everyone seemed to be calling it, and we had seen how powerful he had been. My guess was that he was still level fifty. But he had seemed all powerful to us. A couple of my friends, me included, had wondered why he wore that coat of his, but our questions had been answered when he had simply walked through that flamethrower. Even Losus, the Gyarados that had been one of the first visitors here, would have fainted from that attack.

It seemed his inherent special defence and that coat had protected him. But I wondered how powerful he was. It was a huge testament to his power and skill that he had managed to defeat a level one hundred, and with only three attacks. And he hadn't hit with his Psycho cut either.

When he had been thrown into that wall, it seemed that everyone but the combatants themselves held their breath. When… Dace, I think his name was, had climbed the wall, everyone was amazed he had survived the Flare blitz and Fire spin combination, let alone being thrown into a wall. Everyone had started cheering when Brayzen had fainted, but no-one had seemed to notice his departure.

Except for me.

I looked over at the table where Brayzen usually sat, and saw him and his cronies, a Machamp called Rellure, a Houndoom called Mace, an Electivire named Kluge and a Cacturne. Nobody knew the name of the Cacturne. From their auras, I guessed they were plotting about what to do with Dace.

I felt a bit of worry. What were they going to do? I hope it wasn't too bad. Still… Dace deserved a warning.

**Dace's POV**

After dinner, I said goodbye to Jake and James. I shouted that I'd visit them tomorrow to play 'Portal' or whatever it was Jake had said. When I got to my quarters, I looked around. I noticed that it contained a computer/T.V built into the right wall. The room I was in was the main part of where I was staying, with a corridor on the wall opposite to where I was standing in the doorway. The corridor led to my bedroom, and the bedroom had a bathroom attached to it.

Anyway, the room I was in was white, and had a dark brown settee at one side, facing the computer/T.V. I went through to my bedroom. As I entered the bathroom, I took stock of what it contained. A toilet was on the left side, and a shower took up most of the wall in front of me. Opposite the toilet was a sink. Luckily, being with Teresa had taught me a lot about human appliances, so I knew how to use them.

After taking a shower… and brushing my teeth, I went to bed. It was comfortable, but it always seemed to be a bit cold.

I began to drift off…

(Umm… Dace?)

I leapt off the bed, my elbow blades unsheathed. I was breathing heavily, and I struggled to control my breaths. I settled down, and walked to the door.

I opened it a crack, and peered out.

(Yes?)

It was the Gardevoir I had seen before, and I saw from her aura she was worried. I opened the door wider and stood to the side, giving her silent permission to enter. She walked in slowly, and sat down on the couch.

(Okay, first things first. I think Brayzen and his friends are going to try to pull something, concerning you.)

(So,) I said, speaking slowly, not quite understanding what she was implying, (They're going to… attack me? For defeating Brayzen, right?)

(Yes… So, you're not worried?)

(I am just happy they aren't striking at me through someone else. It's something most people do.)

She looked at me, her head slightly to one side.

Then, an explosion blew the door into the room, and it was heading straight for the Gardevoir. I stepped in front of it, almost automatically, and let it hit me. The door bent and splintered at the resistance it faced, but I held my ground despite the slight pain I felt. As I head a sharp crack, I was sure I had a broken rib, and I heard the Gardevoir behind me gasp. Through the doorway, emerged a yellow figure, and I saw it to be an Electivire.

Behind it, four more darkened shapes made their way through the door. I used my telekinesis to move the dust from the door frame away, and saw…

**Charlottes POV**

As the five Pokémon walked through the doorway, I saw a fleeting look of shock on daces face, and it stayed in his aura, even though he hid it from his face. Luckily, only Psychic and Dark Pokémon can see auras, and even then it takes training to be able to see emotions in an aura. Mostly, you just see a faint colour coating the Pokémon, and this can show you what they've felt in the past. It takes years of training to be able to see what a Pokémon is feeling as soon as it feels something.

Which was why I was worried about the Cacturne.

Dace was still standing in front of me, and he told me to go into his bedroom. I obeyed, running behind him. As I ran, I looked over my shoulder and saw the Gallade stand and block the corridor that led to his bedroom.

He was… protecting me?

Gee, I hadn't expected that.

***

**Benstudios: Hey Dace?  
Dace: Hmm?  
Benstudios: Do you like Charlotte  
Dace: What? No!  
Benstudios: Meh heh heh.  
Charlotte and Dace: Beeenn.  
Benstudios: Ah shi-**

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**Authors Note: Well, that was my longest chapter yet! Next update should be due in the next seven days.**

**And remember, R 'n' R!**


	6. Revenge

**Authors Note: I would like to thank WiseAbsol for inspiring this story, with the superb Phoenix Rose Saga. I would recommend you read it, it is quite amazing. Also, I would like to thank Lucario1856 for being the first person to review this story.**

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**BenHill: ZOMG!  
Benstudios: What?  
BenHill: Is Charlotte gonna…  
Benstudios: Gonna what?  
BenHill: Are Dace and Charlotte going to…interact?  
Benstudios: Maybe.  
BenHill: Because if they are, it would be smart to tell them.  
*Dace and Charlotte walk in, staring at Benstudios like they intend to kill him*  
Dace and Charlotte: We read your fanfiction.  
Benstudios: Oh. Shi-**

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**Dace's POV**

I shook off the pain of having a door it me, and stood in front of the corridor leading to my room. In front of me, the five intruders stalked in. Damn, but they looked cocky, like they were sure that this was going to be easy. Well, we'd have to do something about that. I looked to my room, and saw the Gardevoir standing next to my bed, looking slightly surprised.

(What is your name?) I asked her.

(Charlotte...) I said, not sure what to say next. I decided that I may as well do what my instincts where telling me, though they had been wrong in the past.

(Thank you.)

Then, I looked towards the Electivire, and leapt at it. Clearly it wasn't expecting such a daring move, and it was hit squarely in the face with a glowing purple blade. I jumped back, my Psycho cut move already powering down. It seems that these Pokémon weren't used to being attacked, but that did not affect me in a bad way. In fact, it might be the difference between defeat and victory. I had read somewhere, something about how if a bully gets defeated; he does one of two things. He either seeks revenge, or goes running to his mother. It seemed that the Infernape was doing the latter.

I was, I admit, somewhat happy that if I was to be defeated, no-one else would be hurt. Apart from the ones attacking me.

The Electivire rushed me, its fist glowing with electricity. If it had not been immune to it, I would have met it with a Thunder Punch of my own. Instead, with a fist that was glowing white, my Drain punch met his electric attack. The bones in his knuckles were instantly shattered, and I saw the skin on his elbow part as his radius was pushed through it. The Electric type hissed with pain, taking a step back. I followed it, striking it across the midriff with a Psycho cut. His body flew through the air, smashing through the wall into the room next door. I saw a Meditite look up from its meditation, and I urged it to run away. It nodded, and immediately teleported.

I noticed that the Infernape, the Houndoom and the Machoke circling me. The Cacturn was standing against a wall, looking at me with a look of disgust. Unfortunately, I was not able to punch the look off his face, because while I was distracted the Machoke had circled around behind me, and was standing in the corridor leading to my room. He leapt at me as I turned, and I felt a Mega punch hit me squarely on the chest. I was flung, spinning, through the air into the couch. I was up immediately, and rolled out of the way of a Flare Blitz. The flame from the attack burned everything it touched, as the Infernapes fists pounded the space I had so recently occupied.

The couch was a wreck, but I didn't care anymore. I was fighting to stay alive, and that kept my mind from other matters. I rolled out of the way of further attacks, and ran to the entrance of my room.

Straight at the Machamp.

Each of his fists was powered up with a different attack. I noticed a Thunder punch, an Ice punch, a Fire punch and a Mega punch were all powered up. We both charged at the same time. Both my elbow blades were extended and I struck him before he struck me. But he did hit me. Ice smashed over my body, chilling me to the bone. Another mega punch hit me, the white energy coursing through me, causing me pain. But his other two fists didn't hit me.

Blood spurted from the two stumps where his upper arms had been. They were both lying on the floor, with even more blood pooling around them. I bent down and picked one up, and struck the Machamp across the face with his own fist. He fell back, unconscious. I moved back to guard the doorway, and the Houndoom raced at me. Brayzen was close behind, and I had just enough time to activate a Drain punch and a Psycho cut before they both collided with me.

I hit the Houndoom first, and used the energy gained from the Drain punch to heal myself. The Houndoom fell back, but Brayzen took his place. Another Flare blitz struck me, and we were both flung back, him on top of me. Being punched by him was like being hit with a sledge hammer, over and over again. I managed to raise my Psycho cut enhanced elbow blade, and smashed him across the midriff. He used strength, and I skidded across the floor, acquiring some more bruises before I was stopped by a wall. I looked up and saw Charlotte standing in the corner with a look of shock on her face. I followed her gaze, and saw that there was a chip in my chest spike. Just below the tip, a small shard had broken away. It was no bigger than a thumbnail, and it would grow back, but I felt a bit of power flow out of me. When I looked again at Charlotte, I noticed her Aura was a bit fainter.

(Dace? Are you okay?)

(I am fine, do not worry about me) I said, as I got onto my hands and knees.

I coughed up blood. I thought about my broken chest spike. How long would it take to heal?

But now was not the time to nurse my wounds. I got shakily to my feet, cursing that infernal fire type. If it had not been for him, I would not be in this mess. I walked to the corridor, but turned as I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I looked at the Psychic standing beside me, giving her a small smile. I didn't know why I did that, but it seemed right. I saw her return the smile, then walked on, my face transforming from a smile into a grimace. As I stepped out into the living room, a jaw closed around my midriff. Too late, I realised I had been stupid to just walk out. The Houndoom completed its Chomp move, sending me straight into a wall. He held me there, as Brayzen stalked up to me.

"You, my friend, are more trouble than I thought." The Infernape said, his voice betraying his exhaustion. I looked up at him, noticing the scratches on his forearms from where his own Flare blitz attack had harmed him. It seemed that the Psycho cut had done something as well, because blood was running from his stomach area. I took some perverse pleasure at that. His hand came up, and he punched me across the face. My head snapped to the side, lights exploding in my vision. I felt anger welling up inside me, and I was having a hard time containing it. I strongly believe in what my father had said.

_Anger is a cloud, obscuring your vision. Be calm and you will see everything. Because, in battle, everything matters._

I struggled to find that space inside me that was always calm. But, I couldn't find it this time.

"You are going to pay for my humiliation. Eat shit!" A fist punched the breath out of my lungs. I struggled to find that space.

Where was it? I had to find it.

Brayzen's fist came up again, and my head was sent to the other side. The Houndoom's hold was tightening, and I heard an audible crack as another of my ribs splintered. This not fair, why couldn't they leave me in peace? I was punched again. Why did people attack me? Why did they attack those I was close to? The fire type's fist smashed into my head again. I was beginning to lose consciousness. As the world dimmed, I saw a face. It was framed in green hair, and had a nervous smile on it. The skin was white, the eyes red.

_Charlotte._

How strange I would think of her. I wonder what would happen if they found her. Would she be treated like Teresa? I was dimly aware of another audible crack, and hardly felt the pain of another fist slamming into my face. But… surely these Pokémon, no matter how evil would not stoop so low.

But what if they did?

I felt a new emotion, one of wild, uncontrolled rage.

These… these monsters… would not lay a hand on her. I would make sure of it.

I rose from the darkness clouding my vision. My right elbow blade sliced into the back of the Houndoom. The Cut attack sliced through it, and as I pulled out my blade, blood spurted forth. The dog fell, its jaws falling from me. The Infernape before me took a step back, and hit me with a Flamethrower attack. But I was beyond pain. Everything hurt, yet I could not feel the pain. My broken ribs no longer bothered me. As I approached the Infernape, I saw fear in his eyes, and terror in his Aura. He tried again with his fire attack, but again he failed to stop me. As I neared him, he started to turn, and I saw his intent immediately. I would not allow him to escape. My elbow blades came out again, the _snick_ sound they made seemed louder to me somehow.

My blades glowing a deep violet, struck the fire type's back, leaving deep cuts. They kept on slashing him, and I lost myself in a frenzy of hacking and slashing. My mind went blank. The only thing I could hear was Braysen's cries of pain, and the only thing I could feel was my blades sinking into his flesh. Dimly, I saw movement on my right. But my rage and my condition had blinded me, for I did not care.

A sucker punch struck me from the side. I was flung away from my prey, landing hard on the floor. I turned just in time to see the Cacturne's fist, surrounded by shadows, come down on my stomach.

"I cannot believe that _you_ are going to be the one."

The words puzzled me. What could they mean?

Then I saw a shadow surround his form, realized it was a Dark pulse…

And just before the world went black, a thought entered my head.

_I failed._

***

Everything hurt. Where was I?

(Dace!)

That voice… It was so familiar.

I felt pain lance through me.

(DACE!)

My eyes cracked open. I felt some relief that they hadn't been destroyed in the…

Memories came flooding in. I remembered where I had been. What I had been doing. I had to get back. Had something happened to Charlotte? Damn it! I had failed. I had been tasked with protecting someone. She had warned me of the danger, even thought the warning had made almost no difference. But, I suppose her arrival had made a difference.

I looked around, not seeing very clearly. My vision was blurry, and I couldn't hear anything, except for the voice in my head. Why was it repeating my name? I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision.

(Everyone, step away from the table. I need to see if he can still feel pain.)

I recognised that voice. It was Mewtwo.

What was going on?

**Charlotte's POV**

He looked really bad. His whole body was covered with burn marks, and bruises covered most of his torso. The skin on his cheeks was hanging off, and on the right cheek you could see some bone. Blood coated his face, his chest, and his elbow blades. They had still been extended after he had been knocked unconscious. I had been watching the battle from Dace's bedroom, trying to control myself. Seeing him being beaten… It had made me want to run to him. But I had to control my actions, or else all his efforts would have been for nought.

So I had watched as he had dealt a near fatal blow to the Houndoom, and then proceeded to hack and slash at the Infernape. I had seen blood spurt from the back of the fire type, to land on Dace's head and chest. I had watched in horror, when the Cacturne had detached itself from the shadows. The Sucker punch had thrown Dace off Brayzen, and as the Cacturne approached, I was sure he had said something before he had knocked Dace out.

Then Mewtwo had arrived.

He had instantly sent all the Pokémon that were on the floor to the hospital. I had remained hidden in Dace's room till he had gone. Emerging, I had walked to the stairs, and walked to Mewtwo's room. The only way to enter it was through the stairs, because there were no teleporters leading to it.

My arrival seemed to be a matter of little importance. But, I still had to ask Mewtwo to let me stay with Dace. He hadn't questioned me on how I knew what had happened, and I hid my Aura. Still, he seemed to be a bit suspicious.

(Dace!) I called again. This time, I seemed to have an answer. He shivered, but only slightly. I tried again, louder.

Then his eyes had opened. And with it, his Aura strengthened. Mewtwo then ordered me away from the table, and proceeded to apply pressure to certain points on Dace's body.

(Ow.) It was the first word he had said since he had been knocked out.

(You seem to be fine. You may leave in a few days time.)

With that, Mewtwo walked away to tend to his other patients. I approached Dace, and his eyes met mine. I trembled slightly, from what I didn't know.

(Thank you… for warning me of the danger I was in.) He said, and I noticed how his voice was still the same as it normally was, despite the massive amount of pain he must be feeling. I was surprised to see that he could still talk; I certainly wouldn't be able to. Come to think of it, I wouldn't have been able to do many of the things he had.

(It was nothing, and anyway, the warning didn't do you any good.) I replied, somewhat confused. Why did he thank me? As I had told him, my coming hadn't made any difference.

(No, it was something alright.) What? Man, this was getting confusing!

(So, how long have I been here?) He questioned me.

(A little over six hours.)

(Damn, I was needed at Jake's)

(What?) Oh my god, what the hell? This made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Who was Jake?

(Ugh… Sorry, my mind isn't as focused as it normally is.) He told me.

(Well, I can understand that.) I said, and decided to tell him why I had come.

(You know how I came to warn you?)

(Yes.)

(Well, I would like to thank you for protecting me. I don't think I would have stood much of a chance against Brayzen and his posse. So… Thank you.) I said, getting more rushed towards the end. I felt warmth blossoming in my cheeks. Why was I blushing? This was sooo not the way I wanted it to go. I had come on here with the intention of saying thank you and leaving, but no. That was not to be.

I noticed a slight reddening in his cheeks as well.

(Um… Charlotte, would you like to know why I protected you?)

There was a reason? I had to hear this.

(Sure.)

He seemed to be fighting an internal war. I saw his Aura spiking rapidly.

(Well… I fight better when I am protecting someone. I do not need to do this often anymore, as my skills have increased, but… That is why. I could not have possibly fought off the five monsters that entered my quarters without the incentive provided by you. Have you much experience with my kind?)

Well, that sure was confusing.

(Umm… No. You are the fist Gallade I have met.)

(Ah, that is a shame. I am not a very fine example of my species. But, like all Gallades, I fight more fiercely when protecting someone.)

His Aura suddenly darkened with the feeling of sorrow, and I saw his eyes beginning to water.

(What's wrong?) I asked, wondering why his mood had suddenly darkened.

(Okay… I want to show you something. Something I have not shown anyone else. Are you okay with that?)

Jesus, we didn't even know each other, yet he was about to tell me a secret? He must be 'drunk on pain' as some called it. When a person is in deep pain, they may stop thinking properly. Still, I wanted in on this secret. It was interesting that he hadn't told anyone else.

(Yes.) I answered him. I wonder what he wanted to show me…

(Okay, well… Put your hands on my crest.)

I guessed he was talking about the white horn on his head. I did as I was asked, and was immediately whisked away into his memories. I am not sure how he did it, but he must have spent time training with someone in _Memoria Visum, _which is roughly translated to mean _Memory Vision._ This was a technique used by Psychics to allow others to view their memories. I was surprised Dace knew about it, let alone that he could use this power.

I couldn't see anything for a few seconds. Then, my vision cleared.

In his mind, everything was chaos. Blood was raining from the sky, but I took this to be a sign of the pain he was in. Still, it unnerved me. I stayed where I was, not sure what to do. I saw a shape approaching me, and it formed into the image of Dace.

(Okay, follow me.)

He walked back the way he had come, and I ran to catch up. It is often believed that we Gardevoirs have weak legs, but they are just as strong as a human's, so we find it easy to walk and run. But we choose to hover most of the time. As I caught up, I realized we were walking on… A road made out of glass. Around us were trees of metal, their limbs reaching towards a sky filled with blood-red clouds. As we walked, the blood-rain began to stop, as Dace became accustomed to the pain. It seemed to me that he had a very high tolerance for pain.

I took all the metal trees to be a testament to his strength. I didn't know what the glass road meant. As we neared our destination, the trees began to look like normal trees, but they had glowing orbs hanging from them.

(The things hanging from the trees are my thoughts. We are nearing the chamber where my memories are kept. It isn't often I can look into my own mind, but it has changed quite a bit since last time. I do not remember the sky of blood, or the trees of steel.)

We were approaching a large tower that looked easily over one hundred stories high, and it looked to be made out of wood. To my alarm, it was swaying in the slight breeze. I hadn't noticed the wind in this place before. But the closer we got to the tower, the more powerful it became. Soon my gown was billowing around me, and I had to use my powers to make sure it stayed where it was. I did not want Dace to see me without my dress. Even though he was in front of me, I felt I was being watched. Even though my gown was part of my body, it could be removed.

(Sorry about the wind. I placed it here for a reason. It purifies the 'air'. So no Pokémon can use dream eater. This makes sure that no-one can see into my thoughts, which are what dreams are made of.) He told me.

As we got within three metres of the tower, the wind died down. I stopped using my powers, and entered the wooden structure. The building swayed around me, and I had to fight to keep my footing. The building was indeed made out of wood, and there were nine doors on each level. I struggled to stop myself from falling. Dace however, walked towards a staircase as if the building was as still as stone. Not once did he trip, nor did he stumble. I used Psychic on myself to lift myself above the ground. As I glided over to where Dace was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, he began to walk up. I followed, as he led me to the top of the building, where the swaying was almost unbearable. As we went across the walkway to the last room, I started to notice how neglected this part of the building was. Down the bottom, everything was clean, and each doorhandle had been shiny, as though it was polished regularly. Up here, the doors were grimy, and the walkways creaked and groaned, as though they were as old as time itself.

As Dace neared the final door, he started to slow. He stopped moving when he reached the door, and beckoned me forward. I stepped up next to him, and I reach out for the doorhandle.

(Before you go any further, what is your view on humans?)

The question appeared out of the blue, and I searched for an answer quickly.

(I think,) I said, speaking slowly, stalling for time, (that humans are good at heart, and are usually very kindly.)

His expression turned grim.

(Well,) He sounded like he was about to sign a death warrant, (I hate to ruin your fantasy.)

Then, he laid his hand on mine. The shock of that contact was like nothing else. I immediately felt incredibly hot, as though there wasn't enough air in this place. I didn't know why I felt like that.

He guided my hand towards the handle, and with his hand over mine, I turned it…

_Dace ran through the crowded shopping mall. Where was she? He had to find her. Teresa had been taken by some men and Dace had been left behind. He needed to find her and bring her back._

_As he ran through the colourful mall, he wondered if the people here knew of what had be-fallen his trainer. He had notified the police, and they had immediately established a perimeter. Officer Jenny had asked for a description, and Dace had given her a mental picture. She had phoned Teresa's parents and warned them of Teresa's disappearance. Then, Dace had started to search for his trainer._

_As he ran past an alley, he heard a scream._

_It sounded like…_

_He turned, and ran back to the alley. As he looked inside it, he felt as though someone had punched him in the gut. In front of him, Teresa was lying on the filthy ground, surrounded by naked men. Closer inspection revealed that his trainer was also unclothed._

"_Get away from me!"_

_His trainer, always strong, always confident, was lying in a fetal position on the ground. She was trying to crawl away, but the men herded her into a corner. She raised her arms to protect her face, but her face was not what the abominations around her wanted. They began to gather around her, touching her in places she had told Dace were private._

_Dace watched, shocked at what he was seeing. But he had to stop them._

_(Get away from her!)_

_The men looked up, startled, but soon calmed when they saw Dace. They made no move away from her; in fact, one of the humans actually stepped closer to her. Dace took a step forward, his elbow blades unsheathed. And the man took out a gun. It was black, and it looked heavy._

"_If you take another step, I am going to blow this girls brains out of her head."_

_Dace looked at Teresa, taking in the blond hair, which fell loosely to the middle of her back. The brown eyes, at the moment tear stained and fearful. The slightly tanned skin. Her Aura was spiking rapidly. In it, he could see fear and acceptance._

_(I… I won't take another step.)_

"_Good. That means we can continue."_

_The men swarmed around Teresa. Her cries of pain were audible above the noise of the traffic outside. If Dace had been able to feel anything but horror, he would have been surprised. At least thirty minutes after the start of what Dace thought was worse than watching his mother and father die, the men stepped away from his trainer._

_(Get away from her, you've done what you wanted to do. Now get away.)_

_Dace's voice was akin to ice, but still the man did not flinch._

"_Nah, we don't want evidence."_

_Before Dace could say another word, the man shot Teresa._

_Contrary to what he had said before, the man shot the young trainer in the chest. Her hands half reached towards her chest, in a futile effort to survive, and then fell to her sides. Her body toppled backwards._

_And fell with a resounding thud. The finality in the sound of Teresa's body hitting the ground hit Dace like a sledgehammer._

_His aura spiked with rage._

_And he stepped towards the humans._

_Another gunshot rang out, and Dace stepped to the left just in time for a bullet to go whizzing over his shoulder. He neared the first human, and promptly cut his head off. Blood spurted high into the air, but Dace was not yet finished. He spun and drove both blades into the human's stomach, and then pulled them apart. The man was split in two; more blood now coated the Gallade's body. Dace dealt with the remaining fleeing humans in bloodier and bloodier ways. His skin was covered with blood._

_He approached the last one._

_The one with a gun._

_As he neared, the gun fired. The bullet hit Dace squarely on the left of his chest. But that did not stop him. He neared the human, and was about to _DESTROY_ him…_

I leapt out of the memory. I had seen enough.

I believed what he said.

He fought more fiercely if he was protecting someone.

Dace was waiting for me outside the door. I looked back into the memory, and saw seven policemen dragging Dace away from a mutilated body, which was barely recognisable. The spine was broken, and bones jutted out from the skin of this thing. It was surrounded by a pool of blood.

But it was still alive.

And Dace's crest was a shade paler than when I had first viewed the memory.

I looked at Dace, and looked upwards towards his head spike.

It was pure white.

I turned to start travelling down the stairs. As I walked, my mind wandered. Did I still have the same view on Dace now? Had it changed after watching that? Of course it had. Before, he had been an exemplar of Gallades, embodying their power, honour, bravery and skill. I had thought him a walking pillar of light, I suppose.

Now though… well, I suppose he seemed a lot darker. I wonder how many horrors he had witnessed. Probably lots.

I felt sorry for him, but at the same time scared of him. Would he kill me two?

But no. Dace was not the type for wanton destruction.

As we got to the second level, I noticed a door. It was made out of steel, unlike most of the wooden doors. I approached it, wondering what was on the other side. My curiosity was getting the better of me.

(If you enter that memory, you may regret it.)

The voice behind me was tinged with worry, and a hint of anger. I jerked away from the door, and looked at Dace. In this place, you could not see his Aura, but when I looked in his eyes, I saw a profound sadness.

(Are you threatening me?) I asked him, cold creeping into my voice.

(No. I am merely warning that what you shall se beyond that door, will affect others in negative ways.)

I turned away from him, and realised the significance of the steel door.

He didn't want anyone to see it, and he himself went no where near this memory. Opening this door…

What would it do?

Unconsciously, my hand reached for the door handle. And turned it.

I was plunged into a memory nowhere near as detailed as the last, all the colours where black, grey and white. Neither did I feel the same as I had in the last one, I didn't feel the flow of the situation, so I could not be immersed in this emotions story. There was no sound either. I saw Dace behind a reflective screen, and I saw Mewtwo himself standing in front of the Gallade and the Snorlax.

The next few moments were blurry, and I could hardly see anything.

Then, with a great rush, sound returned, and everything was in colour once again. I saw the Snorlax jump in front of the other two, just in time to get hit with…bullets.

They ripped into the normal type. I heard his pained roars, and a shouted, telepathic _NO_ from Dace. Then the memory blurred again.

And I was back in front of the door.

(Well, I suppose there's no stopping you. So I will show you all the memories of importance to what I am trying to tell you.)

I followed him, and watched the memories of his father and mother. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut.

I left his mind, and emerged into the real world.

We were still in the hospital room. I looked at the body before me. How much blood had covered it? Many litres. How many lives had those blades of his taken? More than enough.

But had he been forced to? Had he been compelled to shed the blood of so many, and in such large quantities?

Yes.

I looked at his chest, searching with my hand for something I knew was there. My fingers touched on a rough patch on his chest, which was shaped in a circle. He shivered.

I drew my hand away from him, and looked into his eyes. They were as red as mine, as red as rubies.

As red as blood.

(What is your view on human's?)

I turned away. Looking out a window, I saw Swablus, Pidgeys and Chatots flying through the air. It was a sunny day. A bright day. But inside this room, everything was dark.

(I believe… that you can always find light, even in the darkest abyss.)

It was something my mother had said to me, when I had been but a Kirlia.

(So… you still hold the same view of humans, even now?)

(Yes.)

(Then,) He said, his voice still rough, still a baritone, (you are destined to live a brighter life than I.)

I turned back to him, searching for a way to calm him. His aura indicated him to have equal amounts of sadness and happiness. He was a strange creature.

(Thank you for protecting me.) I said.

(You're welcome.)

(Oh, and Dace?)

(Yes?)

(Are you sure that all who are close to you die?)

Shock was evident on his face.

(How did you know?)

(I will tell you sometime, but maybe not today.)

I leant towards him, and embraced him. As I once read, we Gardevoirs are considered 'embrace Pokémon'. I suppose this is because we hug people to express gratitude, among other feelings. Hesitantly, his arms found their way around me, and we sat like that for a few minutes. I felt strangely connected to him then, and looking down, I saw it was because our chest spikes were touching. I blushed, realizing how intimate this moment was. Dace probably didn't know, probably according to the memory of his mother I had seen, but I knew that it was close to a kiss.

But not quite. Still… it felt… good. I felt my blush get deeper, and rested my chin on his shoulder, making sure he couldn't see my red face.

I stopped eventually, pulling away from him.

His Aura now showed a slight lift to the sadness, and I was happy about this.

If I could help him overcome his sadness, his bitterness and his hate, then maybe, just maybe…

The healing could begin.

***

**Dace: Okay, we don't mind being together.  
Benstudios: Phew.  
Dace and Charlotte: But we are still going to punish you for not telling us.  
Benstudios: Damn it.  
*Five minutes later, Benstudios is duck taped to the ceiling.*  
Benstudios: Oh, and BenHill?  
BenHill: Yep?  
Benstudios: I am sorry for doing this to you before. It is actually pretty uncomfortable.  
BenHill: You're forgiven.  
Benstudios: Good. Now could you please scratch my arse for me?  
BenHill: NO.**

*******

**Authors Note: I plan to update at least once every week.**

**Thanks for reading, and R'n'R.**


	7. Nothing's gonna keep him down

**Authors Note: Okay, there's gonna be a lot of new characters in this chapter, or there are going to be a lot of characters. Also, for those that are reading this, BenHill is actually a Fanfiction member. Go to his profile, and check out his story. But keep reading this one too. Because this on is better. Love the R'n'Rs.**

**On another note, I am really sorry for the time it took for this chapter to make it out of production… I think I may have writers block. So I am going to be starting a new story to cure the blockage. Now, without further ado, the chapter.**

*******

**Benstudios *from the roof*: *Yawns* that last chapter was wonderful.  
BenHill: I hated the ending.  
Benstudios: That's because you hate romance.  
BenHill: That's because I've been through it.  
Benstudios: Touché  
Jake, James and Jaus (pronounced Jows): We want in.  
Benstudios: Jake, James, you are in.  
Jaus: I'm not.  
Benstudios: Fine. You shall find your way into this chapter. And so will Jake and James.  
James: It should be said James and Jake.  
Benstudios: Oh, shut up.**

*******

**Charlotte's POV**

I visited Dace most of the days he spent recovering. Eventually, word spread about the battle that had gone on in Dace's room. But, that's what you get if the first person you tell happens to be a Lopunny. Damn, but Jess was a gossip girl. It seemed her infatuation with the Gallade had only grown. But that was probably because I hadn't told her what had gone on in the hospital room. The Machamp's superior resilience to pain, and his powerful healing system, ensured that he was the first to leave his hospital bed. But he would forever be without the use of two of his arms.

The Houndoom was next, after some stitches and quit a few litres of blood. The states these two were in were more than enough evidence to convince people of the truth of the battle.

I was heading up to Mewtwo's room, when I became aware of two presences following me. I whirled around, and saw a Bulbasaur and a Mudkip.

I relaxed somewhat at the sight of these two. But why would I need to relax? What had triggered my reactions in the first place? Probably the fact that I was trying to be sneaky, and that I was doing something that was against the rules, as it were. I was too tense these days as well.

I turned back and started walking back up the stairs. When I reached Mewtwo's room, I pushed the doors open and took a peak inside. I had to make sure Mewtwo couldn't see me, or he would kick me out. He had done that twice, claiming that a) he didn't like people invading his privacy, and b) visits were on Mondays and Thursdays. Today was Wednesday. After I snuck in, I snuck up to Dace's room and closed the door behind me.

As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I saw that Dace was asleep. He looked so different asleep than he did awake, the seriousness and many other things were gone from his Aura, and he almost looked relaxed. Kinda. Because, he was frowning slightly, and he looked almost sad.

I walked over to him, and just when I was about to shake him awake, a commotion started in the room outside. Dace shot up, his face stopping inches from mine. He froze, and so did I. We were so close...

I turned away, looking towards the door, to see what was going on. And to hide the redness of my face.

Why did Dace always do that to me? I wonder if he knew he could turn my head into a cherry by being a few inches away from me. I opened the door a crack, and looked out. I heard footsteps behind me; Dace obviously wanted to see as well.

"Oi, we want to see Dace!"

It was the Bulbasaur from earlier, and doubtless the Mudkip was with him. They were faced by Mewtwo, who looked slightly bemused.

(As I said before, there are only visitors allowed on Mondays and Thursday. Now if you would please lea-)

"Well, how come that Gardevoir was let in?" The bulbasaur said, interrupting Mewtwo's speech.

(…What?)

"Damn it Jake."

It was the first time I had heard Dace's voice, other than his telepathic one. This one had a musical lilt to it, as though he was about to burst into song. But you could still hear the annoyance he felt with Jake. I felt him backing up behind me, and I felt both his hands grab my waist. I was surprised my face wasn't giving off light at that point. He carried me, bridal style, to the broom closet in his room. It took up an entire wall, but it was still a broom closet.

Any feelings I had were replaced by indignation and embarrassment, not that I wasn't feeling the latter already. No way was this guy going to shove me into a broom closet! I started to struggle-

And the broom closet door was shut behind me.

Damn.

**Dace's POV**

I dreamt that night.

It was the same dream, the one I had been having ever since I had been incarcerated in this hospital.

But one could hardly call it a 'dream'…

"_(Charlotte, stop!)" I called after her, using my voice, and my telepathy._

_We were running down a glass corridor, and there was blinding white light from all sides. I couldn't see past the glare on either side of me._

_But she kept on running away from me. As she ran, I started to slow. We were nearing some invisible line I knew I was not allowed to cross. But she kept running, and she turned just as she reached some kind of 'other side'._

_(Dace… I have to leave. I'm sorry.)_

_Then she ran on. I followed, and just as I was about to reach her-_

_There was a squeal of tyres, and I felt pain jar me. I knew I was still alive, but it still hurt. My legs were broken, or at least one of them was. I felt a presence over me, and managed to open one of my eyes, to see Charlotte. She was kneeling over me, my head resting in her arms._

_(Dace…I'm sorry.) Her head flew down, and I felt her lips brush my cheek._

_Then she ran._

_I felt some liquid run down my face, and stopped it with a finger. I lifted my hand to view what it was; my pain and anger…and sadness… overcome with curiosity for a moment._

_The small puddle on my forefinger was… a tear. And it was not mine._

_Then, I felt my eyes become wet… and I too, was crying._

_Why-_

Someone had entered my room, and now they were standing over me. I had yet to open my eyes, bet I felt whoever or whatever it was, reach for me. I sat up, my blades starting to unsheathe…

It was Charlotte. And our faces were no less than three inches apart. I heard a noise from outside, and Charlotte turned to look, and then walked towards the door. I stayed were I was, blushing furiously. Still, I was curious to what was going on outside, so I got up and walked over to the door. It was open a crack, enough for us both to look out.

It was Jake and James!

I felt so glad to see them, I almost missed the last part of the argument they were having with Mewtwo.

""Well, how come that Gardevoir was let in?" The bulbasaur said.

(…What?)

"Damn it Jake."

I had to whisper, because I was too close to Mewtwo to use my telepathy. I backed away from the door, giving my arms some space. I grabbed Charlotte around the waist, hoisting her up into my arms. I took her to the one place that would hide her in this room:

The Broom Closet.

She began to realise what I was going to do halfway there, but by then it was too late. She started to thrash in my arms, but I managed to deposit her inside the darkness of the closet with out too much fuss. I closed the door behind her, and ran back to my bed, lying down in it.

Just as Mewtwo burst into the room.

(All right, where is she?) He asked me, as brusque as ever.

(Who?) I always love answering questions with questions. It makes people stop and think about what they are going to say… somewhat, anyway.

(That Gardevoir. I have seen her sneak in here two times already. If you two are breeding in this hospital-)

(WHAT?!) I hoped Mewtwo hadn't realized that it was two psychic voices that had shouted/screamed that word. But still, I was answering his questions with questions, so not only was he stalling to think, which would buy me time to think my way out of this, but I wasn't giving anything away.

Then, Jake and James walked in.

"Hey Dace!" they both shouted. I wonder why they were so happy to see me. In that case, the feeling was mutual. These guys had gotten me to laugh.

(Hi.) I said back, trying not to sound too happy. I didn't know why, I just thought it would have been inappropriate to be happy when my temporary home was being scrutinized by Mewtwo.

(I assure you Mewtwo, there is no-one else here.)

(Hmm…)

He was moving everywhere, looking under and around things that couldn't have possibly held anything larger than my fist. He seemed to be desperate to find something. I didn't know why.

(Hey, Jake, James, I'll go down to your rooms later, I think I'm fine to leave today.)

They told me to come soon, and left. Mewtwo stopped his searching after we heard the door close. He stood up from where he had been kneeling, and went over to the broom closet. I stepped in front of him, my hands held out in front of me.

(No, really, there is no need to look in this closet.) I said, hoping the sweat on my brow would give me away.

Mewtwo sighed.

(Look, I know she's in there. Why did you think I avoided looking in there while your two friends were here?)

I blushed profusely, then turned and opened the door. The Gardevoir inside almost leapt out, but seemed to hold herself back. She neatly stepped out, and turned to Mewtwo.

(Okay. I'm sorry for coming when visi-)

(No need to apologise. I was actually hoping you would sneak in today, because I am going to ask both of you to accompany me on a…) He stopped talking for a second, then resumed with a smile tugging at the sides of his lips, (quest.)

_What?_

(Every time I walk far from this building, I get attacked, and by the same people as well. So I need to find out what is going on, and for this I need to go on a journey.)

(But why do you need us?) Questioned the only other pure psychic type in the room. (Surely you are powerful enough to handle this on your own?)

(I wish that were so, but each time the attacks have been getting more determined. Last time I was attacked, I believe it would have gone bad for me if Dace hadn't intervened.)

So, Mewtwo was not all – powerful.

(So, do you accept?)

(Of course!) I exclaimed. I had, I admit, grown tired of this place. It seemed I wouldn't be able to settle down here, now that my fame had grown. I would be asked for autographs, if what Charlotte said was true…

_Charlotte was sitting at the end of the bed. It was actually a visitor's day, so she was allowed in here. Mewtwo was off dealing with the other patients in the hospital, so the two had some privacy. It was sunny outside, but there were clouds on the horizon._

_(So, why are you here today? You seem to make it a point to see me almost every day.)_

_Dace's voice was laced with good humour, and Charlotte couldn't help but think that she certainly preferred him this way than his usual melancholy and seriousness._

_(Well, you know why I come here.)_

_Charlotte had confessed a few days previously that she was glad Dace had protected her, and that she wished to become friends with him. She told him that the best thing to do in this facility was to make allies, and the more you had, the less chance of Brayzen attacking you. Dace had been surprised that Mewtwo would allow such things to happen, but Charlotte had quickly explained that he didn't. But, Mewtwo wasn't all – powerful, he couldn't see things before they were about to happen._

_Dace had smiled at that, his face twisting into a grin that Charlotte knew could not signify humour._

_Charlotte was puzzled at his strange behaviour, but thought nothing of it._

_(Anyway, I need to tell you something. Ever since the other Pokémon here heard about what you did, you became a sought of,) Charlotte hesitated, not sure what to say, (…well, they think of you as a demi-god. No one has ever beaten Brayzen before, and since you did it twice…)_

_Charlotte left the rest of message hanging in the air. She was sure Dace would figure it out._

_(Damn.)_

_Charlotte was surprised at his reaction. Surely the Pokémon leaning on the wall facing her, would love the attention and adoration of almost every single one here?_

But no,_ she realised, _Dace never wanted attention. He just wanted peace…

I shook myself. I couldn't dwell on the past, because that would distract me from the now.

What was that my old sensei had always said?

_Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!_

They had been wise words from a wise Pokémon. He would repeat that saying every time he caught me staring off into the distance. It had annoyed me so much, but when I had realised what he was saying to me, I couldn't help but smile. Sensei had a cryptic way of speaking and always claimed that it was because everyone understood things differently. I learnt that this meant each and every sentence he uttered was designed to give one meaning. This way, everyone who heard him knew what he was talking about. But only if they could understand him in the first place.

I suppose the way he spoke was a reflection of him. Hard to understand, unless you knew him.

Mewtwo was looking over at Charlotte, who had her head turned away from us.

(But…why would you want me in your party?)

(Because, Charlotte, I prefer to travel with psychic Pokémon, and since you two are the only ones I have spent any amount of time with,) He stopped talking, and his eyes misted over for a few seconds before he resumed, (so, I choose you.)

That was the same phrase Teresa had used whenever she was beginning a battle. Usually she sent me out first, so the phrase _I choose you, Dace! _had been cemented into my brain.

But now, it only brought back painful memories.

(Now, I want each of you to choose one friend to take with you on this journey.)

He got up and teleported, and soon after that Charlotte left.

Just as I was about to head out the door, I saw a piece of paper on the chair Mewtwo had previously occupied. When I looked at it, I saw it had been written using telekinesis. No normal hand, no matter how steady, could match the perfection of telekinetic writing. It was faster than typing on a computer, but it also had the flexibility of using pen, so drawings could be done easily.

But there were no drawings or diagrams on this piece of paper. There were just a few simple lines that read:

_Dace,_

_Let me know if you wish me to bring along anyone. I believe you would prefer not to tear apart a friendship, being you. And, I would make sure everyone knew to meet at the front doors at midnight. Also, tell everyone to take only what they need, because I will requisition our supplies. The Gardevoir you had in your room with you is on the psychic level, and she too 'bunks' with a friend._

_M2._

_Hah,_ I thought after I got over the fact he was using me as a messenger boy,_ at least he knows and realises who he is._

I exited the room, dropping the note into a trash-can outside my room. Walking down the stairs, I hoped that I wouldn't see anyone. But, out of the many Pokémon that were staying here, I should have known I would come across someone.

It was a Lopunny, and it seemed to be watching me out of the corner of its eye as it walked towards me. As I passed it, it bumped it's hips against mine. I felt warmth flood my face, as I realised _it_ was _her_. Turning my head slightly, I gained a better view of the normal type.

She was a bit taller than the average for her species, which had allowed her to reach my hips with hers. I realised she was looking back at me as she made her way towards the normal type level, and I saw her smile as she noticed me looking at her. I averted my gaze quickly, and resumed my walk down to my room.

When I reached the doors to the psychic level, I took a breath before entering, not exactly sure what I would see, and what I would be greeted with. But I needn't have worried. Psychic types were usually calm, composed and almost always controlled themselves in any situation. As I stepped through the doors, I was greeted with silent stares. I hurried to my room, anxious to be anywhere but under the judging gazes of the fifty or so Pokémon spread about the room. But, as I passed a certain Hypno, I heard a thought whispered congratulations. A small flare of pride blossomed in my chest as I walked on, my pace slowing slightly as I neared my room.

It had been left alone, and there was still a hole in the wall the Electivire had been sent through. Inside, I saw the damage that had been done. The couch had melted under the onslaught of Brayzen's Flare blitz, and the glass in the TV had shattered, leaving wires exposed. Burn marks were everywhere, and the door was still lying in the middle of the room.

There was dried blood everywhere.

Walking into my bedroom I saw it had been hardly touched by the battle, apart from the small amount of blood I had coughed up, and the rips in the carpet where my elbow blades had bit deep. I put on my coat, which was the only item I always carried with me.

And the things inside its pockets.

I walked towards the teleporters, and stepped onto the glowing green circle that would take me to the Grass floor. As I stepped in, I felt the strange feeling of teleportation. It was like I had pins and needles all over me. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was uncomfortable.

I arrived on the grass floor, and was immediately swamped by Pokémon.

The questions, they came from everywhere. They were mostly the same question in different forms.

"How did you do it?"

But I didn't want to be in the spotlight. It made me feel uncomfortable, so I quickly pushed my way through the crowd. Eventually, I pushed my way through and bolted for the dormitories. I had a hunch that Jake and James would bunk together in the same room. I was right.

When I finally reached the address Jake and James had given me on my first night, I found they lived with one other. A guy named 'Jaus'.

I stepped through, opening the door with my telekinesis. I was greeted with much the same reception as outside this room. Quickly, I closed the door behind me and locked it. By the time I had finished, my two friends were running at me. Ducking, I dodged one, then the others, Tackle attack. I grabbed both of them as they passed me, and drew them into a hug. But I let go soon enough.

"So, how are you?" Seemed to be the question coming from the mouths of my two friends, which was a nice change from "How did you do it?".

I was about to answer, when I saw the third occupant. My elbow blades leapt out of their sheaths, and I had settled into a fighting stance before I could stop myself. I quickly recovered my composure, and sheathed my blades. This was just a Totodile, it wasn't a Feraligator. Clearly afraid of my reaction to seeing it, the water type took a few quick steps back. But, just seeing the starting state of that certain Big Jaw Pokémon… It brought back harsh memories.

But I couldn't dwell on the past now.

(Um… sorry.) It was the only thing I had to offer the water type. I suppose I was prejudiced against Pokémon that had killed my friends in the past.

(Okay, Jake, James,) I began, then thought I might as well include Jaus. I wouldn't want to take these guys away from one another, seeing as they were the best of friends. (And Jaus, I need you all to take a small bag of belonging with you. This is because I am choosing all you guys to come with me on a journey. Joining us will be Mewtwo and two other Pokémon.)

They looked at me, confusion evident on their faces. But they did what I told them to do, to my surprise. In less than 15 minutes, they were all standing with an assortment of packs. The Totodile had a small rucksack slung over his shoulders, James had a tiny backpack and Jake had…nothing.

(Um, Jake, where is your pack?)

"Hmm? Oh yes, about that… I'm born with one! The pod on my back can hold more things than the other two's bags combined." He answered me, pride in his voice.

With that sorted, I sent them all on their way, and told them to wait for us at the front doors at midnight. With that sorted, I headed back to the psychic floor.

**Charlottes POV**

I headed back down to my bunk room after I got Mewtwo's message, somewhat surprised at what I had been asked to do. Still, the sense of adventure I had in me, that tingled in my limbs, made the decision for me. It's not often that you get a chance for adventure.

That's probably why humans made video games concerning us. Giving humans the chance to collect their dream team, and then actually giving them the ability to catch legendaries, all of this made possible on a small screen. In real life, they would never be able to catch legendaries, and only a few lucky humans actually managed to catch a team they could compete with. But, it was easy to collect a dream team, as long as the team was of made up of common Pokémon. It was actually hard to catch a Pokémon in real life. It was our choice whether to join a human or not, because we chose whether we stayed in the Pokéballs that were thrown at us. Still, the higher level the ball, the harder it was to leave. But even a 'Master Ball' didn't have a chance of catching a legendary, and there was still a chance that we could leave the ball.

Anyway, I was walking towards my bunk when Jess caught up with me

"Oh, my, GAWD. You would not believe what just happened to me." Before I could even answer, she continued. "I saw cute new guy. He was just coming down the stairs, and I met him going upwards. He is soo cute. I was, like, walking up, and I bumped my hips against his-"

(You what?) I almost shouted. I didn't exactly know why I was angry, but I was curious to the cause of her actions.

"Hmm? Ooh..." Began Jess as we entered our bunk room, "Jealous are we?"

(No! I just wanted you to explain why you did such a thing!) I exclaimed, trying to hide the fact that I _was_ jealous. I wished I had the complete confidence Jess had.

"Well I did it because he's an absolute cutie!"

(Do you even know his name?)

She looked at me, puzzled.

"No… Do you?"

I think I had told her of Dace's name, but being her, she had probably forgotten. I felt a slightly annoyed that she could… do that to someone she didn't know.

(Of course I do.)

"Did he tell you himself?"

(Yes.)

I hoped the tone of my voice would stop any further questions, and it did. We both wee sitting down, watching the television, when I remembered what Mewtwo had asked of me. Looking over at Jess, I wondered if she was ready for a journey. Lopunnys weren't known for their ability to fight, although some crafty trainers used their speed as a weapon. But, she was one of my few friends in this facility, and she was my best friend to boot.

"Hey, Jess…"

**Dace's POV**

At the end of each floor are the dorms, where the Pokémon that are really good friends bunk together. But, on the Psychic floor, it was smack bang in the middle. Still, at least we had one, unlike the Dark floor. Those dark types didn't make friends, but some of the ones with dual types did. In fact, the only pure dark type Pokémon I could think of that made friends would be Umbreon and Absol.

I checked the doors, looking for the combination Charlotte-Gardevoir. Pokémon didn't have last names. Instead, we each had two given names (one given to use by humans, the other a name given to us by our parents) and one true name. Our true name remains unknown, and there have only been a few Pokémon in history to learn their true name.

Eventually, I found the right door, and froze when I saw the other name on it.

_Jess-Lopunny_.

No…NO!

Unwanted memories flashed through my head, and I tried my best to stop them. But it was like trying to block a flood with a twig.

_A Feraligator…red blood…blood…everywhere…fighting blindly, trying to protect…failing again…_

I sank to the ground, my hands the covering my eyes, as though I could stop seeing the images and the thoughts by only seeing darkness. But no, you cannot stop seeing memories, especially ones you cannot forget…

_Dace's brother was spread-eagled on the ground, lying next to his trainer, Jess. Or at least, he was lying near what had been Jess. Jess's Torso had been torn away from the rest of her, which had separated her into three pieces. Currently, the closest part of her to Bjorn was the chest and head. The Feraligator that had mauled them was dead, only a few feet away. Yet Bjorn, as his trainer had named him, was still breathing, though each one was laboured._

"_Dace…"_

_The voice came out as a rasping call, pained and hoarse. But, that one word, however spoken, was asking Dace to do something he had never done before. But could he kill Bjorn? Could he stop his brother from experience more pain? Yes. He could. But the real question was; would he?_

_He had come to this place with Bjorn and Jess, looking for the Feraligator that had apparently made its home in this forest. But they had found more here than they had bargained for. The Feraligator was crazed, and in its frenzied state, was trying to kill everything in reach. Bjorn had squared off against it, but he had been no match. He wasn't even half as strong as Dace, and Jess had used him more as a contest Pokémon than as a battler. His Leaf blade hadn't done enough, and then the Feraligator had used its Chomp attack. Its teeth had latched onto Bjorn's neck, and started to squeeze. There had been and audible crack. The water-type had let its pray flop like a ragdoll onto the ground, and had advanced on Jess. But then Dace had struck. His Thunder punch through the Feraligator off its course, and it had come to a painful stop when it had crashed into a tree._

_Dace rushed over to his brother, and almost slipped on the wet grass near the almost-corpse. The Feraligator had torn through some of the veins in Bjorn's neck, and blood had soaked the ground around him. As Dace had stared horror struck at his brother, the Feraligator had struck. Recovering quickly from its injuries, it was rushing towards Jess with murderous intent. Reaching her, he grabbed her legs with its tail, and her arms with its hands. By then, Dace was up and running towards the two. But the Feraligator was locking its jaws onto Jess's stomach, and by then it was too late. With sharp tug of its head, it split Jess into three pieces._

_And Dace became a blur of violence…_

I looked down at my arm, straight at the B. I remembered how I had performed the same act then, as I had to Gus only a few days ago.

Fighting to keep my emotions in check, I knocked on the door.

"(Come in!)" Beckoned two voices, one in my mind and one on my ears. I opened the door, and saw Charlotte on the coach. To open the door, I used my hand, not telekinesis, this time. True to our amorphous nature, we Gallades could chose to have an opposable thumb. But by the time we reach the age of 13, we have to make the choice of having a thumb or not. I chose to have one. Opening the door wider, I saw Jess on the ground, lying on a bed of pillows. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed. I was sure my face was red, but I couldn't take my gaze away from the form on the pillows. It was the Lopunny from the stairs. Shaking my self, I turned towards Charlotte.

And promptly forgot to use my Psychic voice. As a rule, we usually use our telepathy to talk, and it is considered impolite to use our normal voices. However, these days, we Gallades were using our voices slightly more, and it wasn't considered as rude. Still, it was considered manners, and I was a sucker for those.

"Excuse me, Charlotte," I started, and then remembered to use my telepathy. I wondered why I had forgotten, but that wondering would have to wait. (Sorry…Excuse me, Charlotte, but Mewtwo told me to tell you that you should be out the doors by midnight tonight.)

(Right, okay.)

(Also, only take what you need, so don't pack anything that isn't absolutely essential.)

She looked me up and down, and then grinned.

(So,) She said, (you're all packed then?)

(You could say that.)

We exchanged a few more sentences, but it was beginning to get slightly awkward, and leaving them with a few parting words, went back to Mewtwo. I told him that he would be bringing along a Totodile and a Bulbasaur.

At twelve, we were all waiting outside the doors, and we were all staring at Jess's suitcase. It looked packed, and when I tried to pick it up, I had had some trouble. That suitcase must have weighed at least ten kilograms. And it was huge. Jess was having trouble trying to get it back onto its wheels from its position on the ground. Apparently, it had flipped over a rock. Nobody was offering to help her, so I had to. Walking over to the two girls, I slipped both my arms under the suitcase, trying to flip it back up. When Gallades chose to have an opposable thumb or not, they also chose whether they have bones in their arms. If you chose to have no thumbs, you can have bones, which increased your attacking strength. If you chose to have thumbs, then you have no bones, but that still adds flexibility.

The thing is, when you make the choice, the structure of the arms and hands are affected so much, that by the end of the rather painful transformation, the hands resemble that of a humans, even if the fingers look nothing like them. I personally don't know why you wouldn't choose to have an opposable thumb, it helps so much. The fingers on my hand looked somewhat like talons, and I had no finger nails. The fingers were wide at the base, probably one and a half as wide as a humans, but the tips were tapered to a point.

Kneeling down, I put my weight into the job at hand. I could see the muscles in my arm out of the corner of my eye, and I took some small pride when I saw the somewhat corded muscles. They would never be as big as a Machokes, but they showed, which was more than most Gallades could say.

The suitcase began to lift, and in a few more seconds, I got it back on its side.

(Did you hear what I said about bringing only what you need?) I said, trying to keep a smile off my face.

"Yep!" The normal type began, "in here is my portable dvd player, my favourite dvds, money just in case I see something I want, some repels, some potions, some snacks…"

The list went on for quite some time, which allowed Mewtwo to arrive unnoticed.

(I think something needs to be done here…)

Mewtwo teleported most of Jess's things back to his room, and gave her back her handbag, which was filled with a potion, a repel and two poffins.

And so everyone left on this adventure with a smile on their face, even me and Mewtwo.

**End of Part 1**

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**Benstudios: AWRIGHT! I am finished with Part 1.  
BenHill: That's great Ben, took you long enough!**

*******

**Done, and I am really sorry about this, but I might be taking a break on this fanfiction for a while… So keep those reviews coming and I assure you, the next chapter will be out by 2010.**

**Sorry…**


	8. If you go out into the woods today

**Benstudios: Thanks for the Reviews people. I think I said before that I don't own Pokémon, but if I did, I'd probably try to improve it…**

*******

**Benstudios: Okay, lets start Part 2.  
BenHill: What I want to know, is how you're going to handle seven characters.  
Benstudios: I'm not.  
BenHill: So what are you going to do? Get Jake and James run over by a bus?  
*Jake and James look up from playing urban terror*  
Benstudios: actually, that's not such a bad idea…  
*Jake and James jump up, but only after pausing their games*  
Jake and James: NOOO! You cannot do it! *They both get down on their knees and grovel at my feet* PLEASE!  
Benstudios: Hey, I'd only kill you two if Jaus died too. Anyway, I'm not going to kill you guys off.  
Jake and James: Phew!  
James: I still reckon it should be said James and Jake.  
Benstudios and BenHill: Shut. Up.  
Benstudios: Guys, can you tell Dace to let me down now?**

*******

**Dace's POV**

Jess's Mega Kick hit my raised forearm, and I was thankful that I had no bones in my arm. She used the momentum to leap away, and struck again using Quick attack. I was sparring with her, trying to get her more battle ready. Jake and James were both watching from the sidelines, nursing the bruises they had gained from fighting me. Charlotte was helping Mewtwo to set up the tents, as two minds were better than one. They were setting up the tents with telekinesis.

I sidestepped Jess's quick attack, and grabbed her forearm as she passed. She came to a sudden stop, and I struck her lightly with a drain punch. It wasn't enough to cause pain, but it did drain her energy. She wobbled slightly, and knelt, trying to regain her strength. I had won this round.

Jaus was next, and I had to remind myself to not be prejudiced. Still, he didn't last nearly as long as Jess. My thunder punch sent him sprawling to the ground with a bruise on his stomach. So far, Jess had lasted the longest, with James and Jaus tying for last. The only reason Jake had probably lasted longer than the other two starter Pokémon was because thunder-punch wasn't super effective against him.

Then, a Shadow ball struck me from behind. I was flipped head over heels, crashing into a tree, and falling to the ground head-first. I saw Mewtwo striding towards me, and I quickly rolled to the side to avoid being hit again. The second shadow ball broke the tree behind me in half. I ran towards Mewtwo, my right fist crackling with electricity. He rose from the ground, using his telekinesis to hover above the ground. He didn't expect me to be able to jump ten feet into the air.

But I could.

With a mighty uppercut, my Thunder punch struck him on the chin, as I sailed past him, reaching the apex of my sixteen foot jump. Flipping in midair, I used cut-

On thin air.

Too late, I saw the Shadow ball racing towards me from the ground. I managed to get an arm over my head, and then I got hit. I was sent higher into the air, and my arm felt numb. I spiralled to the ground, landing with a crash. I slowly got to my feet. I didn't think I had taken that strong an attack in ages. Still, I could fight. I took some satisfaction in the surprise that flashed across Mewtwo's face. It seemed that only a few Pokémon had ever survived a hit from Mewtwo's Shadow ball, let alone two.

Using his surprise to my advantage, I rushed him, and landed my Cut attack. It had opened a gash on his chest, but I hadn't carried through with the full weight of the attack, which would have been a deep, mortal wound. Quickly, I jumped over him, trying to get behind him. I landed on my hands, and quickly snapped out my left leg, hitting him on the back. Quite the opposite of the silly games that humans played, we Pokémon weren't limited to the moves we learnt. It's just that usually, they were more powerful than a normal attack, which is what I was hitting Mewtwo with now.

He stumbled, and I extended my elbow blades into the ground, using my right foot this time to sweep his feet out from under him. He fell onto his back, and I rolled to my feet, charging my Thunder punch. I knelt quickly, throwing my weight behind the strike.

I stopped the punch before it hit Mewtwo in the throat.

(You're not much of a brawler Mewtwo.) I projected to everyone. Then I felt his hand pressing into my stomach, and I was sent flying into the air by the close range Shadow ball. As I flew, I had time to reflect on how far up I had flown. As soon as I reached the apex of my 'flight' I started counting. I counted to six seconds, before I looked down and jammed my blades into one of the trees that surrounded the large clearing. I came to a painfully jerking stop, retracted my blades, and fell to the ground. I got up and dusted myself off before walking back to Mewtwo.

The thing was, by the time I'd reached him, everyone had finished a potion (or two, in the case of James) and they were all looking like they wanted more. I however, was severely weakened from my fight with Mewtwo. Still, I didn't like to disappoint.

(Come on then! I'll take you all on!) I mentally shouted.

All the Pokémon on the field, except Mewtwo, rushed towards me, and I settled into the fighting stance I had learnt four years ago…

**Charlottes POV**

I watched from my place under the shade of a tree as Dace fended off the attacks of the Pokémon surrounding him. I had really been amazed that he'd been able to take down Mewtwo, but I guess Mewtwo was over-confident in his abilities, and firmly believed that he was superior to Dace when it came to battle. And that had probably been the reason why he'd failed.

We'd all camped out in a clearing. It was a pretty big one two, about three hundred metres squared of grass. We were in the middle of a forest, apparently the one that Dace had found Mewtwo in. Fortunately, we hadn't been attacked by an army of gun totting humans, so I guess everything was going well. After Mewtwo and I had finished setting up the tents, he had glanced over and seen Dace 'beat everyone to the ground' as he said. I thought he was being a bit tough on him, as Dace was just trying to increase everybody's battle skill. Currently, he was being doggy piled by everyone. Except Mewtwo, who was watching with an amused smile.

I hadn't spared with Dace myself, but I wanted to. That's the thing with us psychic types, unless we have a separate type, we were useless in close combat. So I would have to spar with Dace, if I wanted to improve. Anyway, learning some self defence would be good for me.

So I waited for the others to finish their doggy pile, and then I stepped forward. After Dace ingested a potion, I asked him if he was ready for one more match. He looked at me, right in the eye. I could tell he didn't want to fight me, but he did say he would.

I put my hands behind my back, and set my left foot in front of my left. I charged a Shadow ball behind me, and as he charged, I settled into the firing position, my left leg kneeling and my right leg bent, and fired.

Dace simply jumped over the dark orb.

I charged another two, quicker this time, which made them weaker. I fired them, one after the other, as my opponent raced towards me. He dodged one of them, and the other hit his coat. I raised my arms, and fired a Dark pulse. He was standing a few feet away from me when it hit him. Dace was sent flying back, but he dug his blades into the ground and brought himself to a sudden stop. Then he was up and running again.

Now, unlike the video games, we Pokémon could learn an unlimited number of moves, but it was remembering them that was the problem. So I just managed to remember how to use Fake tears, as he was about to Drain punch me. He reeled back, and simply stared at me. Then he sagged, and I could tell from his expression that he was shocked. But the Tears were doing a lot more than what they were supposed to be doing. Usually they just made Pokémon falter, but they actually seemed to be doing more damage to Dace than any of my other attacks. I quickly stopped, wondering what was wrong.

He looked at me, his head cocked to one side. His gaze, it cut through me. Then he walked off, and as he entered the woods around the clearing, he jumped, disappearing into the trees. I looked at everyone around me, wondering what had happened. I shrugged, and we just left him to his business. But if he didn't come back in an hour, I was going to go looking for him.

As it happened, he didn't come back for about a whole day. We looked for him everywhere, but he couldn't be found. I felt really guilty for sending him away, even though I hadn't meant to do it on purpose. But, I also felt slightly annoyed, because he delayed us for a full day. Still, we weren't in any kind of rush.

The plan was; we would investigate and find out who the people who attacked Mewtwo were, then we would find out where they had set up head quarters. If it was in Sinnoh, then that was good. If it wasn't, then we would have to split up. Mewtwo insisted that if there was to be any travelling abroad, then the Pokémon who didn't have family in Sinnoh would have to go, and the ones that did would have to stay. Dace and Mewtwo had no family, mine had moved to Johto, and Jess's parents were in England. Unfortunately, the other three all had families in here, which meant that they wouldn't be going if we had to leave Sinnoh.

By the time Dace got back, we had all come to the conclusion that we were going to have to go on without him. But he got back in time, so off we went, in out different ways. Jess sprinted off ahead, Dace leaping from tree branch to tree branch, travelling almost as fast as Mewtwo was. Mewtwo was flying through the sky, searching the land for our next camping spot. Jake, James, Jaus and I all walked at the back of the group.

Usually, Jess would run out of energy, and we would catch up to her as she was resting in the shade of a tree. Next up, we would find Dace waiting for us, or usually he would drop out of the trees and land next to one of us. The last time he did that, Jess had jumped into a tree. Dace could generate some laughter when he wanted to. Sadly, he didn't want to make anyone _feel_ anything. Most of the time, he didn't try to get any emotion out of any of us. Maybe that was why he had been so freaked when I had used Fake tears. The other four guys at least tried to be funny, even Mewtwo, but he wasn't much good at being humorous. It seemed that James had a huge crush on Jess, and when I told her about this, she said that he was cute, but she wasn't interested.

Still, he kept trying to charm her.

I was distracted from my musings as Dace came running towards us. He stopped a few feet in front of us, and by the look on his face, I could tell he had bad news.

(Okay, Mewtwo wasn't able to see this from the air, so I don't think we'll be able to get any help from him.)Dace said, and I wondered what Dace had seen that required our help.(So I'm going to have to ask you guys for help. Up ahead, there are about twenty Ursaring. Now, I might be able to handle ten, maybe twelve, but definitely twenty, and especially when we're in their territory.)

"Couldn't we just go around?" Jake asked.

(No, because if we went one way, we would walk into a mountain, and if we went the other way, we would have to double back and cross a river. We're going to have to go _through_ this particular hurdle.) Taking in the glares we were all giving him, he added, (hey, just view it as a training session.)

There were a few more questions asked, but the same answer given. We wouldn't be going around.

This time when we set off, there were six of us. The first half-hour went by without incident, but a short time after that, we entered into a small clearing. There were two hills, one bigger than the other. It was obvious from the beginning, that this was where Mewtwo, Dace and Gus had fought the humans. There were one or two craters, and as I looked up at the trees, I saw long, thing cuts in the wood. It seemed that was where Dace had climbed into the cover provided by the tree tops.

As the five of us that hadn't been here when the battle took place looked around, Dace began walking up the big, grassy hill. We all stopped staring at the devastation and hurried to join him. At the top, we saw corpses of Pokémon and humans, limbs bent in absurd and unnatural positions as though they had been tossed around like dolls. I didn't want to look at the dead bodies, but I found my eyes looking for marks, or cuts that matched Dace's blades.

And I found them.

In fact, most of the bodies that were lying here had cuts and nicks in them. Some even had limbs, or heads, separated from them. As I looked up from the carnage strewn out before me, I found Dace looking at me. It was as though he was saying _look what I can do_. I didn't know why he wanted me to know what he could do, and I didn't have much time to contemplate.

Because it was then that we were attacked by a mob of angry, dangerous Ursaring.

We all snapped to, and those of us who had ranged moves quickly fired them off. I thought I saw three Ursaring drop to the ground, one of them taken down by my Focus blast, and then they converged on us…

**Dace's POV:**

What was it with this place? The first time I had arrived here, I had to fight, to kill. The second time, it was the same. But maybe, I didn't have to kill. I jumped towards the charging normal-types, and once again, time froze a second before I entered combat. I saw an Ursaring tripping over two vines that had risen up from the ground, and I guessed that it was Jake's Grass knot. I myself had tripped up when that move had been used against me. I saw another go down, a golden beam of energy striking it. I didn't know who had fired that. And finally, a massive torrent of water smashed into the Ursaring at the back, knocking it backwards. James had actually hit with his Hydro Pump attack.

And then reality returned to normal.

I struck the lead Ursaring blade first, my elbow blade glowing purple with psychic energy. My Psycho cut attack flung the Pokémon back into its fellows, and three of the bears fell onto the ground. I jumped over the bodies, and landed feet first on the next Ursaring's shoulders. I jumped off it, and used my moment to crash into the five or so at the back of the group. I shifted my body so that I would hit all of them, and we hit the ground.

I was trapped under the bodies of at least two of the heavy Pokémon, so I struck out blindly with my right arm, hoping to get some room to manoeuvre in. I heard a pained grunt, and struck out with a Drain punch towards the source of that noise. I felt energy flow through me, and I quickly channelled it into a surge of power, and used Cut in a long arc across my body. Light suddenly filtered through the blackness of the bodies surrounding me, and I quickly jumped to my feet. I was in a circle of five Ursaring, and none of them looked happy.

I jumped as one used Hyper beam, but it still caught my left shin. The attack forced me to flip, and I found myself heading forwards. I unconsciously withdrew my blades and curled into a ball. I'd been hit like that before, and Jess had sought to rectify the fact that when I fell face down on the battlefield, I usually ended up losing. I thudded into the Ursaring, but my bodyweight and momentum were not enough to knock him to the ground. I quickly uncurled, and ducked under the swipes of two Ursaring. They were closing in fast, and I couldn't afford that, so I quickly rolled out from under the group, between the legs of one of the normal types. I came up, my arm blades swinging, and caught two of the Ursaring's in mid turn, sending them down to the ground. The other three quickly followed, and I turned to see how the others were doing.

Unlike me, the others hadn't been fighting for most of their lives. Which meant they couldn't handle more than one or two opponents at a time. I went to help the nearest of my companions, Jaus. He was currently being beaten into the ground by three of the normal types, but they were so focused on Jaus that they didn't see me approaching. I smashed my fist into the side of the biggest one, which knocked it into one of the others. I hit both of them with a Thunder punch, knocking them both out. I saw a shadow loom over me, and immediately kicked backwards. I heard a wheeze behind me as I knocked the air out of the Ursaring's lungs, and swung around, dropping onto my back as I did so. I struck out with my other leg as my momentum spun me round, and my shin connected painfully with the last Ursaring's knee. It fell towards me, and I quickly used a small blast of telekinesis to freeze it for a second.

I felt the exhaustion that came with using my psychic powers, but quickly struck with a Drain punch. As my glowing fist hit the Ursaring, I used the tingling rush of new energy to replenish my own reserves. With my exhaustion quickly fading, I saw the Ursaring shoot backwards, sailing right over Jaus, and hitting the tree that the water type had been backed up against. As it slumped to the ground, stood up and lent my skill to the others. It was easier than my own fight because the Ursaring had their concentration focused fully on us trespassers. After a few more minutes of battle, most of the bears where on the ground, and the ones that weren't were running deeper into the forest.

I took a step forward to help Jess to her feet, when I stood on something soft. Glancing down, I saw a dead human, his head lying a metre from his body. I almost threw up when I realized I had done that. I quickly stepped off the body, and went to Jess, offering her my hand. I tried my best not to think of the corpse I had just stepped on.

I'd known that this was the place Mewtwo and I had battled the humans and their Pokémon, but I hadn't expected to see all the dead bodies. In a fight, it was easy to kill. It was kill or be killed. But…looking at all the carnage, I realised how many people I had killed. I remembered how many beings I had slain over the years. I thought back to my first kill, the man who had…violated Teresa. I had been fourteen then. I was seventeen now. And every year I had killed at least one person.

The people that attacked me were ones that wanted to kill me. Back when I was a child, I hadn't realised that the people I had killed had families. Or used to.

I was attacked by these families, who eventually started calling me a freak. They even started petitioning the government to put me in prison. However, the fact that I had justifiable reasons for attacking each of these people, made sure that I didn't end up in jail. Also, a Pokémon had never been put in Jail, and the court I was in didn't want to be the first to put a Pocket Monster in chains. After the court appeal failed, the families took matters into their own hands. And so the chase began. I realized though, that I couldn't run forever.

And so the predator became the prey.

I hunted each and every member, male or female, adult or child. But the thing was, once there was no-one left to accuse me, I was free. I got away with mass murder. I managed to kill over one hundred humans. And the only things that gave evidence to the murders would have been the numerous scares marking my body. That was why I wore my overcoat. Over the years, the scars had faded away, but they were still there.

My thoughts were interrupted by Jess.

"Hey, are you gonna help me or what?"

I walked over to her, offering my hand. She grabbed it and I pulled backwards, bringing the Lopunny to her feet.

The rest of the journey passed without incident, and in another few hours we were standing on the side of a mountain, just outside a cave. Mewtwo had already teleported what we had needed and six sleeping bags were spread out on the ground. After a few berries, some juice (in Jess's case coke) and a little talk, Jake, Jaus and James were asleep in their bags, Jess and Charlotte were getting into theirs, and I was shrugging off my overcoat. I didn't bother folding it; I just put it next to my sleeping bag and fell asleep…

**Charlotte's POV:**

Jess and I waited for everyone else to fall asleep, and then began planning.

"I reckon we should take it now and look at in its pockets" Jess offered, returning again to the subject at hand.

We were planning on looking inside the pockets of Dace's big, black overcoat. Jess had wondered why Dace wore it, and I had to admit I was anxious to know as well. Apart from me, he was the only one who wore clothes, and mine were pretty much attached to me.

My gown, like other Gardevoir's gowns, was like a symbiote. It changed and shifted to my wishes, and it also boosted my psychic powers. In return, I allowed it to draw off my life source, and that added to its half-life. Wearing a Gardevoir's gown takes off about a tenth of ones life, but I would still live much longer than any normal human. The constant use of Psychic energy replenishes the mind and body, causing extended life. Generally speaking, Gardevoirs and Gallades could live up to one thousand years of age. But Gardevoirs, because of our gowns, could 'only' live up to nine hundred.

(Agreed.)

"You do it," Jess suggested, "I don't want him to wake up and see me."

(Why not?) I asked, (you do like Dace, right?)

"Yes, I do, but it's pretty obvious that you like him too, so being the good friend that I am, I am backing off to leave you two with each other. Anyway, I reckon you would make such a cute couple!" Jess explained, then after a thoughtful pause added, "And I felt like such an old granny just saying that!"

(Quiet, you're talking too loudly!) I exclaimed, giving the standing form of Mewtwo a quick glance. Since we'd started on this 'quest,' Mewtwo had decided to go back to his old habit of sleeping while standing. It also seemed that his mind was still highly active during sleep, because his aura was just as bright as it was when he was awake. Most beings' auras went dull during sleep. (Alright, I'll do it. But only because you would make too much noise.)

"How would I make too much noise? You would probably make more of a ruckus than me!" She hissed silently.

I raised one of my eyebrows, and then shifted my hair out of the way so that she could see it. I didn't know why a Gardevoir's hair had to be in such a style, because it took ages to put your hair back into position if it fell out of place during a battle. Usually, three hours was the amount of time most Gardevoirs spent on their hair a day. I hadn't been keeping to my schedule, so my hair was sort of falling into a lank kind of style. I decided to worry about that later, and focus on the present.

(Well, I don't even have to move to get that coat.)

She realized I was talking about telekinesis, and I could see her struggling for a retort.

(Unless you want to get that coat.)

And before she could say anything else, I reached out for Dace's overcoat.

But it didn't register! I couldn't detect it with my powers! I could detect Dace, and the sleeping bag that he was in, but not the coat beside him! I tried for the air around the coat, but that just gave me a headache. I couldn't pick up something that I didn't register.

(Alright,) I said, raising my hands to my temples, (new plan,) I used my middle and index fingers to massage my temples, which lessened the pain of the headache. (I'm going to get the coat manually.)

I got out of my sleeping bag, and tip-toed over to the sleeping form of Dace. His aura was hardly there, which meant he was either nearly dead or having a really deep sleep. As I knelt at his coat to pick it up, his aura suddenly became clear, and it turned a depthless black.

Suddenly, he had leapt up, his blade at my throat. It pressed in slightly, and I could feel a trickle of blood crawling down my neck. Dace's aura was still dark, but it was getting lighter rapidly. And yet, despite being about an inch close to death, I still had time to feel slightly embarrassed about the tiny nightie I was wearing.

***

**Benstudios: holy damn, but that was late. I am sorry that it came out 10 whole days after it was due. I'm really sorry about that.  
Everyone: You'd better be!!!**

**Author's note: As I said before, I am sorry for the late update. But I have other news. Avatar (James camoran's one) is amazing. It was soooooo awesome. Anyway, Merry belated Christmas, and happy belated new year!**


	9. Out of the forest, Into the town

**Author's Note: All right, now, I have a few things to say. First of all, everyone should watch, or should've watched, AVATAR, It is an amazing movie. Second, I am sorry about Michael Jackson's death. My heart goes out to his family. As you can tell from this message, this chapter took more than a year for me to make. That's sloppy, it's just that writing this is an on and off thing.**

**Now, I am also looking for beta readers, because my other one lost interest. So leave me a PM if you want to beta for me. Also, any fan art would be greatly appreciated, and would probably get me to make chapters faster. Maybe an image of a black overcoat-wearing Gallade? I have tried my hand at altering a picture of a Gallade, and it is currently my avatar. Also! It is important to remember that I view Pokémon as a Parallel universe that is pretty much the same as ours, but with Pokémon. **

**Also, I have more to say down at the bottom, so please read that as well.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, Ash would total get some, instead of being 'teh ghey'.**

**Benstudios: Okay, I seriously need to get back into the game.  
Dace: Yeah, you do.  
Benstudios: Where's Ben Hill?  
Dace: He's the Beta that lost interest.  
Benstudios: Ah. Do you reckon anyone else will take the job?  
Dace: Probably not. I mean, your story isn't that famous.  
Benstudios: What?  
Dace: Well, it's not. I mean, you have few comments, the length between this  
chapter and the last has been fifty-two weeks, if not more, and the action is  
lacking. Either that, or there is too much. I'm not sure which.  
Benstudios *while wearing a sad face*: I'm going to have to change that.  
*A puff of smoke appears*  
Jake Wa: Hey Ben.  
Benstudios: Wha'? Who are you?  
Jake Wa: I am a beta reader, and I am here to help you.  
Benstudios: THANK YOU GOD!  
*Arceus walks into the room*  
Benstudios: MY GOD! This is just weird…  
Arceus: *telepathically* I didn't like you either kid.  
*Arceus sends Ben flying across the room with psychic, then walks out*  
*Jake Wa and Dace run over to Ben and pick him up*  
Benstudios: Man that guys a jerk.  
Voice: You're telling me.  
Dace: Who the hell said that?  
Voice: I did.  
*A teenage boy with brown hair, wearing a brown zip-up sweatshirt and a pair  
of jeans drops down from the ceiling*  
Jake Wa: Who are you?  
Teen: My name's Chris and I'm going to be joining this little story.  
Benstudios: When did I hire you?  
Chris: A few days ago, remember? I said I could bring more action to this story.  
Dace: *arms crossed*: And HOW will you do that?  
Chris: With these.  
*Takes out a pair of P90 sub-machine guns*  
All: Whoa!  
*Dace unsheathes his elbow swords and tackles Chris, the blades on his  
throat*  
Chris: What the *BLEEP* man? I'm on your side.  
*Everyone looks with a weird face at the ceiling*  
Dace: What the hell was that noise?  
Chris: Some kind of censor thing. It follows me around everywhere.  
Jake Wa: OK, CAN WE GET TO THE GOD DAMN MOTHER *BLEEP*-ING STORY NOW?  
WE'RE WASTING TIME!  
*Everyone stares at Jake Wa*  
Jake Wa: Man, that censor thing is annoying. Tell you what, lets break it.  
Benstudios: How?  
Chris: You can't destroy something that doesn't exist.  
BenStudios: Ooooooooooooooookaaay, on with the story then.  
Chris: Can someone please pull Dace off me before he slits my throat?  
Benstudios: Nah, it's too funny. However, I can ask him to get off  
Chris: Please do.  
Benstudios: Dace, please get off Chris.  
Dace: No  
*Charlotte walks in*  
Charlotte: Why are you on top of another man?  
*Dace rapidly gets off of Chris*  
Charlotte: Dace... are you gay?  
Dace: Hell no. I'm straight as a pole.  
Charlotte: For me? Please?  
*Jess walks in*  
Jess: Yes, please be straight for Charlotte, Dace.  
Chris: *eyes Charlotte unnoticeably* I think I'm going to enjoy this place.  
But I do want to say one thing.  
All: What?  
Chris: ENJOY THE STORY OR I'LL FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU LIVE, SNEAK INTO YOUR  
ROOM, AND CUT YOUR HEAD OFF WITH A DULL MACHETE!  
*Everyone looks at Chris*  
Chris: What?  
*Everyone just awkwardly leaves the room*  
Chris: WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID!**

**Dace's POV**

I stared at the face in front of mine, which looked horrified. I slowly withdrew my blade, and stood up silently.

Then, I ran.

I hadn't meant to do it, but years of paranoia were right behind me. There were times I would wake up at night, disturbed by a slight noise, and I would have had to kill someone before they jumped me while I slept. There were even times when I would kill people in their sleep.

I didn't know where I was running, but it had to be away from there. I was running as fast as I could now, sidestepping trees just as I was about to run into them. I wasn't feeling tired, not one bit. I could run for days, but I couldn't help feeling a deep weariness, and also a bit of self-loathing. Why had I done that? I could have killed her!

I looked down at my hands, stopping suddenly, so suddenly I almost fell over. Her face… it told me everything she had been feeling at that moment, surprise, fear, and now that I though back, she had been blushing slightly as well. I wondered what she had been doing.

I went to the nearest tree and slowly slid down it, where I sat, my eyes closed. I could here the sounds of the forest all around me, the Beedrills, Hoot-Hoots, Noctowls and even the high pitched whine of some Pikachu. I groaned slightly, letting my head fall limply against the tree trunk, wondering what Charlotte had been up to.

I was thinking about it now, remembering every detail. She had been right next to me, but her focus hadn't been on me. It had been on something else. I hadn't seen much before I ran away, but I had seen what she was wearing, and what she was reaching for. I felt a little embarrassed about thinking of her rather revealing nightie, but lower, her hand had been reaching for my…

Coat!

I smiled slightly as I realized what she had been doing. Since the material in my cloak couldn't be affected by telekinesis or fire, water, grass, or any of the other elements, she had been forced to 'steal' it. It was probably because the two girls where curious about what was inside my coat. They would be disappointed, finding only a Zap plate, some Black Glasses, a Big Root, three belts, one brown, one red with four stripes, one green, with one stripe and the newspaper. But I wasn't too worried about that, it was in one of the inside pockets. It could only be opened with the key that was hanging around my neck, hidden under the Mind plate and Fist Plate that rested there as well. The two plates around my neck were akin to dog tags, one that had "Dace" stamped into it and the other… well, that was another story. I touched the dog tags just to be sure they were still there.

Why did Charlotte, who I had only known for a couple of weeks, always bring out the most extreme responses in me? First of all, 'saving' her had given me a burst of desperate strength when I needed it, then running from her tears, which were so like… another girl I used to know – and only a few minutes ago, when I had been about ready to cut her head off.

I heard a footstep near me, and stood up, realizing I was no longer alone. Walking over to the source of the disturbance, I waited in front of the shadows.

Charlotte stepped out, back in her gown. Her head was bent, and when she looked up at me, she had guilt written all over her face and Aura. My chest spike hadn't healed yet, so I could only see really strong emotions.

(Look, Dace…)Her voice trailed away, and she seemed lost for a few seconds. I could tell she had come here to say sorry, even though I had been the one holding a blade to her throat. I felt incredibly guilty, which was something I hadn't felt for years. Actually it was roughly two years ago, when I had killed for about the hundredth time, or maybe the second hundredth.

(Alright, um… I'm sorry for trying to steal your coat. I shouldn't be touching your property, and-) I put a finger to her lips and shook my head, although this wouldn't normally stop telepathy, she understood what I meant.

(Look, what you did was harmless. What I did…) I moved my finger below her chin, and lifted it up and to the side, so that I could see the slight cut on her neck. (I am the one who should be sorry.)

(I can forgive you though,) Said the Gardevoir as she reclaimed her chin, (It will be forgiven. But first, you have to do something for me.)

I decided to humour her, asking what she wanted. She wanted to know what my coat was made out of, so I told her. I was actually glad that she had asked me such an easy question.

(It's made out of a woven, light-weight steel mesh. It also has components, like miniscule particles of concrete, which resists bullets. It's also resistant to all Pokémon moves, because it has been made with some kind of secret material, which is coloured, black) I saw the question in her eyes, and added (and I don't know what it's called. All I know is that it has saved my life many times-) I stopped myself before I said anymore. I had let that slip, and for some reason, I didn't want Charlotte to know that my life was in danger, or ever had been. However it probably wasn't in peril at the moment, in a forest that I didn't know the name of.

(Mmh?) She had picked up on the obvious cut in my answer. (What's this about saving your life?)

(Uh, um, well you see-) I oh-so coherently began, (It's…It's nothing.)

(I'm pretty sure that if something concerns your life, it must be important.) Still, she didn't pursue the subject, and for that I was grateful. Suddenly, her aura turned a worrying shade of dark, really really dark, purple. I wondered for a moment why sometimes I could see her aura, and other times I couldn't. It couldn't be my spike all the time. Before I asked her what was wrong, she told me.

(I think that Jess saw me running into the forest after you, and I'm not sure what she might have thought about that.)

(Well, I think we had better make sure she doesn't get the wrong idea.) I said, stating the obvious.

Charlotte blushed a little at this, and I didn't even bother to think why. I reckoned that she must be embarrassed by being near me. I couldn't blame her; I was pretty ashamed of myself sometimes, being embarrassed at my actions or something else. We started walking back towards the camp, and about half way there, we were ambushed by a hyperactive ball of words.

"Okay, you guys have to tell me what happened. Exactly what happened. Also, I am going to make you swear to tell the truth, I don't want to hear any lies from either of you. I don't want you to avoid my questions, especially you Dace. Now, what happened?" Jess asked. I walked away, back towards the camp, right passed her.

"Hey!" She was very angry, and I wondered what she thought must have happened, and chuckled slightly with amusement. "Come back here and tell me what you did to Charlotte. If you hurt her, I'm going to…to..." Obviously, I wasn't the only person who couldn't speak coherently. "I'll kick you so hard in the nads you'll lose any chance at having children." I shook my head, but I didn't doubt that she would, so I picked up my pace and walked a bit faster.

Charlotte calmed her friend down just as I walked out of earshot, but I could still 'hear' her telepathy. From what I could gather, she was being asked if she and I had been having a fight. I laughed a little, before I started to run back. I was tired, and I wanted to sleep. But as I slipped into my sleeping bag, I realized that I couldn't. I was still sparking with adrenaline. I raised my fingers to my temples, massaging them. I didn't think it would help, but I honestly didn't care. I just wanted to get to the only solace I had from my life, which happened to be sleep. But for some reason, I kept on having that nightmare. So even my dreams – the last safe place left for me – was becoming dangerous. Just like me.

Sighing, I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself so I could return to the darkness of sleep...

_Six hours later…_

Yawning, I rubbed the bleariness out of my eyes. As usual, after falling asleep after two hours, I had woken to very bright sunlight and the noise of the three J's watching the early morning T.V. They had pestered Mewtwo about getting a battery operated television, and he had grudgingly given in, teleporting them one along with everything else. I slipped out of my sleeping bag, and looked over at the girl's corner. I felt really guilty about marking Charlotte, but the feeling was lightened by the fact she had forgiven me. Still, I couldn't get the image of her head rolling across the floor out of my mind.

I was, as per usual, the last person to wake up. I think it must come from being a teenager. I could vaguely remember how old I was, and when I was born. March 3rd I think. I crawled out of my sleeping bag and made my way on hands and knees to the fridge. I hadn't slept well at all.

I opened the door and blindly groped around for a can of Mountain Dew. My hand wrapped around a can, and I looked at it. The can was black, and the shine from the sun in my bleary eyes stopped me from seeing the name. Still, it would have to do. I stood up, and stumbled to one of the low rocks outside the cave, before sitting down heavily. I wiped my eyes with my empty hand, and saw that I would be drinking coke this morning. This wouldn't be good for my teeth.

After I was finished, I made the can hover in the air in front of me. Then, in quick succession, I sliced it into four pieces. I was feeling better now, and went over to the table where everyone was sitting. The first few times these people had seen my morning ritual of soft drink and looking stoned, they had laughed their heads off. Usually it only happened when I was tired. But I think they had finally gotten used to it, and I was happy that they had. My morning ritual was the one thing I had left. I have been doing it ever since I was fourteen, and needed to get drunk most days. Ever since I had lost all of my family. And my trainer.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, trying to dispel the melancholy thoughts that hung over my head like a dark cloud.

(Okay,) Mewtwo looked like he was choosing his words carefully, (Near to our current position, there happens to be a town called Canalave. We will be stopping there to find some information. Hopefully, there will be some information regarding the organisation that ambushed me around the city.)

(Wait,) I felt a rising sense of apprehension, (You're not saying we'll be going _into_ the city…are you?)

I could not believe this. I had known we were close to Canalave for a while now, but I had never thought we would be going into that cursed city. There were probably still people in there that wanted to kill me.

(That is exactly what I am saying; do you have something against the idea?) I wondered if I heard a shading of annoyance in his voice.

(Yes.)

(And what might that be?)

I said nothing, I wasn't going to tell these people anything unless something happened that made telling them necessary. After all, my privacy was just as important as everyone else's, wasn't it?

_Eleven hours later…_

I was walking through the streets of Canalave, looking at all the familiar landmarks, and the new ones that had sprung up in my absence. Still, despite my fears, I was slightly glad to be back in a place that was familiar to me. I walked into the Pokémon centre, and sat down on one of the sofas that were in the waiting room. I saw some trainers looking at me out of the corners of their eyes as I lounged there. I didn't want any of them to think I was without a trainer, but I couldn't stop the first trainer that thought to challenge me from doing so.

He said something brief about me looking like a good addition to his team, before sending out a rather weak looking Onix. After the good Nurse sent us outside, I decided I might as well brush up on my skills. They hadn't been properly tested in a while, and I wanted to make sure that they were still good. Combat was a central part of my life.

The Onix came rushing at me, using a Take-down. I swung a Drain punch, catching it just under the horn on its head. I hit it again with a Psycho cut, sending it back towards its trainer. It got back up, but I could tell it only had one move left before I KO'd it. The trainer ordered another Take-down. The trainer probably wasn't very skilled. I raised my arms in front of me, and absorbed the brunt of the impact, sliding back a few feet. The Onix fainted, falling to the ground with a resounding crash. Its master complained loudly about losing his only healthy Pokémon, and ran back into the Pokémon centre clutching the red and white ball to his chest.

I needed a better challenge, so I looked for the Aura with the largest range of colours. Normally, the more colours in an aura, the more experiences a person has been through. And powerful trainers went through a lot to raise their Pokémon. But my chest spike was still healing, and I couldn't really see Auras very well at the moment. Still, when I saw the blue haired trainer in the red suit, I knew I had found an incredibly powerful entity. He was conversing with another trainer, this one wearing a cap with a design on the front. I approached the blue haired trainer, and overheard the shorter black haired one call him 'Lucian'. I stopped right in front of my chosen opponent, and waited for him to finish his chat.

Two more humans came running towards us as I challenged Lucian. One had dark-blue hair, and was a female; the other was about as tall as Lucian. His eyes were really hard to see. It was a wonder he wasn't wearing glasses. Or contact lenses. Lucian turned his attention towards me.

"So, what do you want my friend?" He enquired. I noticed a book poking out of one of his pockets. I sent my challenge to Lucian.

(I wish to battle your strongest Pokémon.)

In what seemed like moments, we were out in one of the deserted courtyards outside the library. There were a few others battling, but most had stopped to watch Lucian fight me. Apparently, he was the strongest Elite Four member in Sinnoh. Apart from the champion, he was the strongest trainer I'd ever seen. The tall brown haired human was announcing the match.

"The rules are one versus five. Lucian may not switch Pokémon or use items that are not already on his Pokémon. Lucian, chose your first Pokémon."

A Mr. Mime appeared in front of me. By now all most of the people in a hundred metre radius had stopped what they were doing to watch this battle.

"Oh, hello!" the Mr. Mime exclaimed, "I can't wait to see what happens when you fight Lucian's last Pokémon!"

As we began, Lucian ordered his Pokémon to use a Barrier. As with most Mr. Mimes, the barrier was incredibly powerful, but I had seen much more powerful ones, Mewtwo's for example. I found it easy enough to break through it and smash into the Mr. Mime with a Night Slash. Altogether, I knew seven moves: Cut, Night Slash, Drain Punch, Psycho Cut, Thunder Punch, Swords Dance and Endure. I probably used to know more, but over the years I've forgotten them. If anything, Teresa had taught me at least ten moves. We had practised them daily, but now I had forgotten three. If she had still been alive, she would have scolded me and we would have spent ages training so that I would remember them. I hit the Mr. Mime again with a Night slash, the edges of my elbow blades turning dark black, with purple on the fringes. I struck again, and this time the Mr. Mime was forced to his knees. Lucian shouted for his Pokémon to use Psychic, but it was too late. As I felt the first tingle of the telekinetic technique brush over me, I smashed the Mr. Mime in the face with a Thunder punch. With electricity running over its body, my opponent went soaring over, thudding to a stop and skidding the few remaining metres to come to rest at Lucian's feet.

Lucian bent down, and was about to return his Pokémon when I heard its vague telepathy telling Lucian it wanted to watch me fight. After an exchange in which Lucian said that the Mr. Mime had seen me fight up close and personal, the Mr. Mime convinced Lucian by saying that the fight had barely lasted ten seconds.

"I want to change the conditions of the match," Lucian raised his voice over the whispers and talk that had spread through the crowd. Apparently, I wasn't fighting fairly. I smirked as the group of children that had muttered that comment looked my way. One day, they were going to have a rude awakening. One of them was going to be murdered, or fired, or was going to have any number of things happen to them that certainly weren't 'fair'. "I don't want any more of my Pokémon hurt this badly. I shall send out one more Pokémon and whoever wins this next round wins the battle."

I was fine with this, and I was expecting him to send out another Psychic Pokémon, like a Bronzong. He did, but it wasn't one of the Pokémon I was expecting. As the white light escaped the Pokéball, a Gallade stepped out. It was shorter than me, but most Gallades were.

"I shall leave you two to fight each other. I won't burden my friend here by telling him what to do like I usually would." Lucian seemed to be pretty confident in his Gallades skills.

(Do you know the Rites?) My opponent asked me.

The Rites are a set of sacred rules laid down before the fight between two or more Gallades. They were a simple set of rules, and there were only three of them:

Observe the ritual of the Life Dance. (The Life Dance was a set of movements that listed what had happened in one's life, and what that same Gallade wanted to do in the future. Mine was pretty long.)

The Unsheathing must be done, and can only be done, after the Life Dance. (The Unsheathing is pretty much showing our elbow blades. It's like showing off, because when it comes to Gallades, the bigger the blades the more respect you get.)

If the contest is to result in the death of one or more of the combatants, then all must acknowledge its lethality. (That last one means that everyone should know if a duel is to the death or not.)

(I know the Rites.) I responded evenly.

Both of us made a formal salute, touching our Crests with our hands, then our chest spikes, symbolising that we respect the other. I waited for him to do his dance first. All Gallade's dances start with one knee on the ground, meaning being a Ralts. He rose to his feet instantly, showing he had been turned from a Kirlia into a Gallade as soon as he evolved. The rest of his dance was made up of him going through a simplistic Kata, meaning that he had been training since then. It ended with him stamping his left foot down solidly, and extending his blades in a split-second.

I had practised my dance every spare chance I got. Which wasn't many, but it was enough for me to remember what to do and when.

The beginning of my dance was the same as his, turning into a Gallade immediately after evolution. This gave him pause for thought because I had no trainer. Immediately, I swung my arms out wide, then brought my hands together with my chest spike in between my hands. Then, after making a figure eight with my left hand, I ducked my head into my chest and did a quick round-off, and after the flip at the end, I punched my right hand down into the ground we were fighting on, causing a few cracks to spread through the stones and rock. This symbolised control and deadly strength. The part involving my chest spike meant I had suffered hurt, but in my heart. To finish off, I crossed my forearms and brought them towards my throat, then extended my elbow blades, and settled into my stance.

My elbow blades were clearly much longer than his, and I was taller. He looked to be about the same age as me though. He looked shocked, and he had a right to be. Only a few individuals had killed people, as represented by my last manoeuvre. I had done one other thing while dancing though. I had activated my Swords Dance. He had too, which is what the Rites cause Gallades to do. I always felt a little self conscious about my kata, as it wasn't very humble, and seemed like a boast. Still, one of the points of the kata was to be truthful.

As we squared off, I looked for weaknesses in my foe. The Mr. Mime had been eager to watch me battle this Pokémon, so I needed to be cautious. The Gallade suddenly ran at me, at a speed I hadn't expected. So he was incredibly fast for a Gallade. What else? I blocked his Leaf Blade easily, his glowing green blades smashing into mine. The Leaf Blade had made his blades longer for a few seconds, and I was going to have to watch out for that. I leaped back from the frenzied slashes of my opponent, and ducked back into the fight with electrified fists. After grabbing onto one of my opponents hands, I channelled more energy into my attack. I took a step back, looking into the eyes of my paralyzed enemy. Then I drew back my arm, aimed carefully, and hit him right in the face with my right hand. He skidded back a few feet, which was surprising given the fact that I the punch I had just swung was one of the rare few that were well aimed. He shook his head, and began to charge at me, his blades glowing purple. I decided I might as well meet him Psycho cut for Psycho cut, so I started pouring energy into my blades, using my psychic powers to increase their sharpness, and the size of my blades a tiny bit. As he ran at me, I put all my weight on my back foot and leapt towards him.

My right arm came up across my body in a diagonal cut to block his attack. However, without the leap I had performed, I probably wouldn't have had the power to resist that attack. Both of his blades had come sweeping down in a double slash. My arm jarred, all the muscles in it tensing at the same time to give it a rock-like hardness. We stayed that way for half a second before my left blade snapped out and cut across my opponent's cheek. He moved his head to the side just in time to dodge most of the cut, but my purple blade was quick enough to give him a cut just above the eye, and cause him to lose some of his hair.

We sprung apart, each appraising the other. Then he began a forward rush again, this time with his blades glowing green and lengthening quite a way. But then a spasm rocked his body, the electricity from my Thunder punch had caused him to falter. I jumped into the air, spinning in a pirouette to lend momentum to my assault. My cut attack landed a little to the left of where I had been aiming, so the only mark on the other Gallade was a thin cut along his stomach. I was waiting for the Gallade to make a sign of surrender, but he kept on coming. After I landed, he attacked me with a jab to the stomach. I retaliated by kicking him hard in the chest, on the right side of his chest spike. I then swung a punch aimed for his head. He ducked under the blow, coming up on my left. I quickly raised that sides arm to deflect an incoming punch, but instead I felt the sharp edge of an elbow blade slice across my shoulder. I quickly took a step back, my arm raised to ward off any incoming attacks. Blood was running in small rivulets down my arm, flowing into the grooves of my muscles. I looked at it for a second, and then turned my attention back to the fight. My shoulder would be fine. I bent over backwards to avoid the second Leaf blade sent my way, but the lengthening of the blade allowed it to slice across my cheek.

I came up with my right hand curled into a fist, and smashed my opponent straight on the nose. I felt bone break under my knuckles, and then felt a strong grip on my wrist. He had caught hold of my punch just as I was about to draw back and brought his other hand up to close on my closed hand. My left arm jabbed him in the stomach twice, but it wasn't enough to make him let go of my hand in time. I felt the knuckles of my hand break, and then I heard my wrist click. I roared in pain, my left elbow blade coming through to slice across the stomach of the one who had just made my favoured hand useless. I growled after I drew a step backwards.

I had to let my right arm dangle down by my side to make sure it didn't cause too much pain. I prided myself on my ability to resist physical pain, but my right hand was now bent at a ninety-degree angle, and that meant it hurt like a bitch. I was wondering if I had any chance of winning, when a huge electrical current washed over the enemy. The current was actually so strong that he toppled over backwards. I quickly leapt forward, hissing as my hand was dragged across my hip. I knelt next to him and put my blade against his neck. He eyed me for a second, and then nodded his submission.

I sighed, feeling the adrenaline that had been pumping through me leave, the feeling of which made my legs wobble slightly. I offered my left hand down to the Gallade and he grabbed onto it, pulling himself up. I stood still as he walked past me to Lucian, who was looking a little worried. As I pulled myself back to reality, I realised that everyone was cheering and that people were shouting things about how I was a 'tank' and that I would have destroyed all of Lucian's Pokémon. I looked towards the Pokémon centre and passed through the crowd. I almost smiled as I neared a batch of the humans, who visibly paled. I walked past them towards the doors, and as I entered them I heard the noise from outside become a whole lot quieter. I staggered towards the Nurse Joy standing by the counter.

"Oh dear, you must have been in that fight outside!" I almost felt like making a sarcastic comment, but the fight had worn me out more than I had thought. "Here, come with me and I'll patch you up." She looked at me suddenly, as if remembering something. I hope she didn't, because if it was history with me and Canalave, it was definitely not good. She walked through some sliding glass doors and into the main hospital. I followed, and lay down in the bed Nurse Joy indicated. The blood from my shoulder and my many other cuts from my body was causing the bed sheets to turn red, but the Nurse didn't seem to care. Instead, she told the Chansey that was helping her out to get some bandages and some antiseptics, along with various other medications. Nurse Joy took out a portable x-ray machine and started holding over the parts of my body that were injured. As she traced it over my arms, she was surprised at the fact that I had no bones in them, apart from my hands. I told her that it was normal for me, and asked her to take a look at my right hand.

After her analysis, she told me she would have to put a cast on it. I knew that my body would heal within a few days, but I knew that having a cast on wouldn't be detrimental to my health. As long as I healed as soon as possible. Despite having no bones in my arms, I did have my blades, but they didn't really count. They were made of something akin to steel, like a cross between carbon fibre and another metal of more durability. To exit their sheaths, the muscles around them squeezed in a wave motion, incredibly quickly, and this forces the blades out at up to four hundred kilometres an hour.

As I waited for the nurse to come back with the bandages, I had a visitor.

Charlotte came through the door, looking exasperated and a little worried. I was also guessing she was seriously pissed off by the way her fists were clenched at her sides. I couldn't see her aura at all, which was really annoying. I really needed to get her to tell me how to do that.

(Dace, why do you always get into fights?) She questioned as she came closer.

(Hi there.) I don't think that saying hello lightened the mood at all. In fact, she looked ready to slap me. I didn't know what was causing her to be so angry. It seemed incredibly ridiculous to me.

(That Gallade out there is in a lot of pain! Do you know what you did to him?) She didn't allow me to answer, which I thought was rather rude, but I was curious as to what I had done to the 'Gallade out there'. It couldn't have been anything really bad, because I didn't remember doing anything worse than he did, when he broke my hand.

(When you punched him in the stomach, you must have really hurt him. He's lying out there in a puddle of...of…) She looked disgusted, so I provided by saying 'blood'. She shook her head, then nodded, then shook it again.

(That and something else, you must have punched him in a spot that triggered the bowels. He's lying in his own waste. And blood, which came out as well!) She shivered and I got off the table.

That's when the Nurse came back in, and she ordered me back down. I shook my head, and told her to follow me. I walked back outside, noticing immediately that the crowd had thinned down considerably. I guessed that not everyone had the stomach to see the mess that was on the ground. The good Nurse quickly ran back inside and emerged with a stretcher, her Chansey right behind her. They picked up the downed Gallade, careful not to step in the muck, and brought him back inside. I didn't bother going back inside. I didn't need the Nurse; I needed a doctor that could put a cast on my hand. I walked over to a smaller building, right next to the rather grandiose Pokémon Centre. Inside, there was a small man in a too large white coat. He was old and had a pair of glasses that covered twice the area around his eyes, making him look incredibly ridiculous, but he was a doctor, and that's what I needed.

He took one look at my hand, and even without my saying so, beckoned me into the ward and put a cast on it. I thanked him, walking out. He said something about payment, so I decided to contact Mewtwo, telling the doctor that there would be someone here to pay for my treatment soon enough.

(Actually Charlotte, where is Mewtwo?) I'd just remembered that I'd left the group at the bridge, I had headed back while they had gone across.

(He's booked us into a hotel near the library, across the bridge in the centre of town. And you're not going to believe this, but he is rich!) I wasn't actually surprised about this, but I was curious as to where he got his money from. (He booked us into a five star hotel, but there were only three rooms available. Mewtwo took one for himself, Jess and I have chosen to be bunk buddies and the three J's are all in the remaining room.)

(So, where do I sleep?)

(I don't know, but you're welcome to share Jess and my room. Mewtwo doesn't want anyone in his at all.) She looked at me, and then quickly turned away again. I wondered if she was still angry because I'd punched Lucian's Gallade in the kidneys too hard.

(I'm…) What was I apologising for? But I went on, (I'm sorry for what I did…)

God, I sounded so pathetic. But Charlotte looked back at me with a small smile.

(It's okay Dace, it seems fighting, and at that winning, is part of your nature.) She pointed towards the big bridge that linked the two halves of Canalave together, (Now let's go find Mewtwo.)

_That night…_

I was walking down with Charlotte and Jess to a building filled with bright strobe lights, that also had loud music blaring out of speakers located outside the door. Each speaker looked to be about one and a half times as tall as a normal human. We were on our way there for some, quote "Recreational time so that I may proceed in my investigation to uncover who is attempting to destroy me" unquote, according to Mewtwo. Jess and Charlotte decided to go and have a night on the town in order to gather information. The building with a ridiculous amount of light and sound blasting out of it was called 'The Mariner' because the founder had intended it to be used by sailors as a resting place. Its purpose had changed a few years after an accident that caused the hospitalisation of two seamen over a dispute about who had caught the biggest Magikarp.

And now it was being used as a party location.

I walked a slight distance behind the two girls, still wondering how I had managed to get myself into this mess. I vaguely remembered something about relaxing after the fight earlier today, and then something even vaguer about me agreeing to get drunk…

But moving on.

As we neared the doors, a rather large man in a black suit asked us for passes. Charlotte and Jess handed him three white envelopes, and the man jerked a thumb in the direction of the doors. I stared dubiously at the large white building, and hurried inside after the girls in order to escape the noise. This was futile, as the music seemed even louder inside the building. I caught sight of the bar and immediately made my way over.

Sitting on one of the stools, I produced my card that allowed me to buy up to half a litre of drinks from any liquor shop – which was ALOT. The card could be used once each visit, and I always brought it with me wherever I went. Deciding to start off with a pint of whisky, I tilted my head back and let the scorching drink slide down my throat.

Casting my gaze around, I saw Jess and Charlotte in conversation with another group of Pokémon, comprising of a Garchomp, Breloom and Gengar. I was surprised that the latter had been allowed in, as usually ghost Pokémon were seen as too freaky to be let into parties. I agreed with that though, as I didn't think anybody liked the idea of someone who can walk through walls appearing in, say, the toilets, while there were other people there.

I don't know why I moved from my barstool, as I had just gotten settled, but within moments I found myself standing in between Charlotte and Jess. I still had my drink in hand, and took another mouthful.

Charlotte turned to me, and I could see joy in her eyes.

(Oh my god! Dace! These are my friends that I met with my trainer, we were all raised together and this Gaspar here was captured before me, so we were discussing what had happened to each other since we were released.) Charlotte explained in a rush. I relaxed seeing that the conversation was a friendly one.

"Charlotte has told me a lot about you Dace," The Gengar said with a grin, "and don't worry, it's all good things she's been saying."

(Well, that's a relief. I would like to hear what she said about me, but I guess that can wait. What's your name?)

"I'm Gez, this here is Orle," He said while gesturing to the Breloom, "And this is Forza"

I looked the Garchomp up and down, subconsciously sizing him up. He appeared to me as the most dangerous of the group, and I was ever weary of threats. Forza was looking intensely at me as well, now that he had noticed my glance. I shifted my gaze to the Gengar and the Orle, the Breloom. I realised that Orle was a female, but only after seeing the subtle difference in upper body proportions that separated the males from the females. The build of the chest was the only non-perverted way to tell whether a Pokémon was male or female, as well as other parts of the anatomy that I could take a guess at but would rather not say. It was always hard to tell the difference in gender between some Pokémon, until you got to know them well enough.

I drunk some more of my drink, then got shoved hard by a man who had stumbled into me. I put my hand out to steady myself and grabbed onto Charlotte's arm. Unfortunately, this did not have the desired effect and we all ended up on the floor in a tangle of limbs. My hand that I had used to grab onto Charlotte had found a rather odd purchase, and looking over one of the drunken man's arms, I quickly snatched my hand away from where I had been groping Charlotte's breast.

(Oh, jeez I am so sorry.) I meant it, but it somehow didn't sound very sincere.

(It's okay, it was an accident – just help me get this man off. He's passed out.)

I sat up, and noticed that my drink had spilled all over the front of me. We were getting some odd glances from everyone in our immediate vicinity, but they seemed not to pay too much attention. It was just another case of a drunk man spoiling someone's afternoon. I got one of my knees under me and stood up, keeping one of my arms under the man, who had indeed fallen unconscious. I offered my non-engaged hand to Charlotte, and she grabbed it as I proceeded to help her to her feet.

Charlotte stood up, then fell against me with a cry.

(What's the matter?) Came from me, and other cries of "Oh my" and "What happened" came from people and Pokémon all around us.

"Owwww…" Mumbled Charlotte. "I stepped in some glass."

Looking down, I saw that she had indeed. There was a puddle of blood forming around her feet.

(Can you hover with levitation?)

"Not for lon-" Her next sentence was interrupted by a hiss as pain hit her again.

(A couple of seconds should be long enough.)

She stood on her uninjured foot and started to rise off the ground, but her focus wavered as a fresh wave of pain hit her. Still, she had stayed airborne long enough for me to step forwards and get an arm around her so that she was slung over my shoulder. I discovered that I could carry both Charlotte and the man easily enough, so I walked over to the door and threw the man out, before manoeuvring Charlotte so that I was carrying her bridal style, with her legs over my right arm and her upper body leaning on my left. She folded her arms against her chest and shut her eyes tightly to ward off the pain.

I walked back towards where I had left the others, garnering myself a couple more odd looks on the way. The Gengar had used his powers to crush all the pieces of smashed glass, spilled drink and blood into a small ball, and had deposited it in the nearest trash can.

(Me and Charlotte may be taking a small break from this, so we will be seeing you some other time. Jess, you can stay here… probably until midnight. Or until I get sent down here to get you.)

"Aw… But midnights when the party really gets going. Oh well, I suppose I'll see you two later on. Kiss Charlotte good night for me, won't you Dace?" I blushed at her request, there was no helping it.

(What are you talking about you deranged rabbit?)

"Ahahaha, no need to get your trousers in a twist, figuratively speaking. See you guys later!" Said the evil bunny as she hopped back into the mosh pit surrounding the DJ.

It was kind of sweet, in a way, that her aura showed anxiety concerning Charlotte's welfare.

Turning on my heel, I strode towards the bar and asked the man whether there was a medical kit anywhere. He directed me to the toilets and into a small sick bay, which already housed a woman who was so intoxicated that she had managed to bash her head into something very solid, so hard that she had a massive bruise forming over her eye. She was going to love the next morning, I could tell.

I sat Charlotte down on one of the gurneys as the barman left us, knelt down to get a closer look at her injured foot. Quickly grabbing some antiseptic and a roll of bandage, I applied the antiseptic to the part of the bandage that I was going to use to cover the wound. I held onto her hand and told her to squeeze when I pulled out the glass.

(Okay. When I count to three, I'm going to pull out the glass.) Charlotte nodded in agreement.

(One-) I yanked the piece of glass out.

(KYAAAAAA!) Was the reply I received.

Working quickly with my one spare hand, I held the bandage in place and used my meagre telekinetic abilities to twist the bandage around her foot once. As soon as this was done, I shot my hand out and wrapped the bandage tightly around her ankle and the upper portion of her foot. I was lucky that my casted hand was being held onto tightly by Charlotte, instead of my non-cast hand, for two reasons. A) She was squeezing harder than expected, and B) I wouldn't have been able to tie up the bandage.

Finishing up, I tucked the trailing end of the bandage into the top, and allowed Charlotte to her feet. Once again, she stumbled and fell against me.

(That hurt!) She shouted into my head. (That hurt, I thought you were counting to three! You're mean!)

(I had to pull it out before you tensed up in preparation) I mentally sighed. (Sorry for that rather unorthodox method. But it is a lot less painless than if you had tensed up, as I would have had to pull it out more slowly then. You are lucky though, because I think that the glass was small enough that it didn't hurt any of your foot muscle.)

I realised belatedly that I had wrapped my arms around her in a hug. What was wrong with me? I couldn't seem to keep my hands off her tonight. I started to draw my arms away from her, and she almost fell again.

(Um. We may have a slight problem here.) I should win an award for being Captain Obvious.

(I can't seem to bear any weight on my left foot at all.)

(We're going to have to move together to get you back onto that gurney.)

We started to do this awkward shuffle, and we were almost there when I slipped over some liquid on the floor. I fell over, doing my best to regain my balance and at the same time trying not to make the same mistake as I had before, so I made sure to grab the table instead of Charlotte.

It still didn't work. We ended up in a rather suspect position on the table, our heads only a couple of inches apart. Both of my hands had ended up grabbing the gurney above where her head was, and my left knee had managed to find its way onto the operation table as well, just on the outside of her right leg. We were both too stunned to move.

And just then some people walked in.

"-And so _I_ say that _SHE_ should go and… Whoa, I think we're interrupting something James."

"Wow. I never thought that two Pokémon fornicating would be so… like humans, like missionary position, you know?" Said a deeper voice than the first.

I leapt off Charlotte as quickly as I could and turned to face the humans. The guy who had spoken up first was a teenager of medium height with long dark brown hair swept over one eye and masses of leather straps wrapped around his forearms, and his friend was a kind of portly human of about the same height with shorter brown hair. He had one Pokéball strapped to his belt buckle, and he was wearing a shirt that promoted some football club. The one with the darker hair had six Pokéballs, three strapped to each of his armbands.

"Yeah… that Gallade looks rather pissed. Let's leave them to it." I was embarrassed just to think that they thought me and Charlotte... well I wasn't going to dwell on it.

As soon as the presumptuous fools left, I turned back to Charlotte.

(Would you mind if I picked you up like I did before?)

(No. Not at all Dace.) I believed I could hear embarrassment in her voice.

Walking out of the sick bay with Charlotte in my arms was a rather different outcome than the one I had envisioned. Her foot seemed to have been wounded a lot more severely than I had originally thought. I'd have to get Mewtwo to have a closer look at her. I turned in the direction of the bridge and started towards the apartment block.

_On the rooftop opposite the clubhouse…_

"_This is watcher two to ambush team four. Subject is headed in your direction. Your orders are to Neutralise the Pokémon. Over."_

"_Watcher two. This is ambush team four. We have sighted the target. There are two Pokémon en route, including the target. Orders? Over."_

"_Neutralise both of them. Over and Out."_

**Authors note: That's the end of chapter eight. Took me a while didn't it? That's cuz it was long. And I also want to put a mention in here about someone who is helping me on this. Chris is a pretty cool guy, and I want you all to visit his page and have a look at this stuff. I think he'll appreciate that.**


	10. A much darker side

**Authors Note: So, after my failure to deliver my chapter last time, I will reduce my aim of making massive chapters. I will now make ****2000-5000 words in a document and release them once a month, instead 10000 words every YEAR. New characters introduced in this chapter, and old ones removed. Watch out for it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, then it wouldn't be such a kids show. M rating all the way.**

**Benstudios: Jeez, I didn't expect all the writer's block, school work, work and laziness to put me so far behind schedule.  
Dace: No excuses fool.  
Benstudios: Oh god. Please don't kill me. I'm so sorry.  
*Gets down on his knees and prays*  
Dace: NO MERCY FOR THE WEAK!  
*Benstudios stops praying, gets up, and runs for his life.* ****Chris*Walks in sipping Mountain Dew*: How long do you think it will be 'till he figures out you were kidding?  
*****Chris sips from the cup*  
****Dace: Hard to say. Last time he ran for a mile and a half before he stopped.  
****Jake-Wa *From no-where*: I heard one time he ran for 48 miles and a total of 8 hours.  
****Chris*Reels*: GAH! Where'd you come from?  
****Jake-Wa: I have teleporting powers.  
****Chris*Staring at Jake like he's a freak*: Ok then...um...let's continue...**

**Charlotte's POV**

My foot throbbed with intense pain, I probably wouldn't be able to walk properly for weeks and I had just had to miss out on a party, the first I had been to in a long time, but I only felt lucky and happy. This was probably because Dace had carried me out of the club bridal style. Actually no, that was _definitely_ why I was happy.

I felt kind of embarrassed about being seen by those two humans while Dace and I had been entangled after I 'accidentally' fell over backwards onto the medical gurney. I honestly did have feelings for Dace, I truly, truly did. It wasn't something that had developed this evening. I'd had them for a while, probably since I'd visited his room back in Mewtwo's building.

As Dace carried me down the streets towards the bridge, I slipped my arms around his neck. He didn't react, and I was sort of glad because I didn't want to let go, even if he'd told me to. I looked up at him, and I felt sort giddy that he was blushing a lot. He was staring straight ahead, so I had time to look at all the white marks on his skin. You couldn't see them very well from far away, but Dace's skin was a mess of scars around his torso, back, arms and shoulders. I looked at the scar he had on his cheek. It looked like a small 'x' had been outlined on it. Each of these scars had a story, some sharing the story with others, but all of them hinting at a bleak past.

As Dace passed a small alley, hands reached out.

Dace looked to his right, saw what was reaching for him, and ducked low before doing a roll. He made sure I didn't touch the ground as he did this and I had a weird moment of vertigo before we came to rest against a brick wall. He propped me up against it, and turned around to face his attackers.

I heard a gunshot, and Dace's uninjured arm leapt in front of him. There was a high pitched squealing sound, and the two halves of the bullet landed on either side of me. Another loud shot rang out, and I saw the thing impact on Dace's coat. He shuddered and then simply vanished. Looking in the direction of the gunshot, I saw Dace materialise behind the man and bifurcate him.

I learned later that he hadn't used teleport. Dace was just so fast he could move without anyone seeing him. He appeared back in front of me, catching another bullet with his coat. I realised that if he hadn't, I would have been shot.

(Hide under this) Dace took off the trench coat and threw it over me. I couldn't move at all, my foot hurt and was still destroying my concentration.

DAMN IT!

I need to help. I needed to protect myself. But all I could do was watch from under the coat as Dace fought for both of us. He moved faster with the coat off, and darted between the attackers with blinding speed.

These humans had obviously been trained since they were young for the purpose of battle. They had cutting edge weaponry and gadgets. One man even had a net launcher which he shot at Dace. There were close combat weapons as well, some had swords and one man even had a steel shock rod. They moved as a team and seemed to know all of Dace's moves, doing their best to dodge out of the way of his long reaching Psycho Cut and the shorter ranged but more explosive Thunder Punches. Dace was also only using his left arm, because his dominant right arm was incapacitated.

They didn't stand a chance.

Dace was like a demon in their midst. He ripped the steel bow out of the man's grip, just before slicing his stomach. He was already moving on before the human's entrails hit the ground. He flung the rod at the furthest opponent with such force that the blunt object penetrated the protective vest and the flesh underneath. The power was so much that it pinned the man to the rear wall of the alley and continued to shock him even after he was long dead.

Dace caught the net that was propelled at him which turned out to be electrified. The electricity however, instead of jumping all over Dace's body and immobilising him, stayed stuck in his left hand, and was only unleashed when the opportunistic human, with a sword, standing behind him attacked. Pirouetting on the spot, the Gallade bought his fist into the backstabber's stomach. Leaping away from the spot, the belated gunshots zinging harmlessly into the night. The ambusher that had just attacked dace was kneeling on the spot, his eyes rolled back, quite dead.

The demon continued to slaughter the ill-prepared humans, leaving none alive. I couldn't tear my eyes away. It was horrifying, Dace had been so passive before. He had been blushing, and now…

He was showing no mercy.

Dace rose from the kneeling position he had come to rest at, hearing the man behind him split apart from head to toe. That was enough for me, seeing the blood and insides still sticking together, trying to hold the body together like glue. I leant over and vomited. Dace looked back; as I coughed I turned my head to face him.

His eyes were the scariest things I had ever seen. The pupils had narrowed to pin points, and his aura had expanded, encompassing nearly the entire alley. It was pure, deep black. Red and dark purple were warring at the very edges of the aura, creating an almost hypnotic effect. The globe slowly shrank as I watched, returning to its usual shape around Dace. Black was replaced by blue, and then all the emotions came flooding back in.

Dace rushed over to me, picking me up and moving me outside onto the street. This also caused me to lose sight of the carnage, and the stench of death was less strong. I breathed easier, then looked at Dace. He was kneeling in front of me, his arms covered in blood. He still had his elbow blades extended and blood was slowly dripping from them.

(Charlotte. Are you okay?) As he reached towards me, I shrank back. His blood covered hands were reaching towards me, a stark contrast to the worried expression on his face.

(GET AWAY FROM ME! MONSTER!)

I regretted the scream almost as soon as I had projected it. Dace rocked back onto his heels, then sat down with a grunt. His face was completely blank, but his aura had undergone another abrupt change. It was slowly filling with and intense and thick grey. I put a hand over my mouth, and I stared into Dace's eyes. He looked shocked for a second, then glanced towards the alley.

"Yeah, I can see why you'd say that. Go on. Call me a monster again."

His voice was whispering to me. He sounded so sad, so incredibly sad and depressed that I couldn't believe he had just slaughtered a group of humans. He was still talking in that soft voice, and his eyes were just as depressed.

"I've killed so many, haven't I. Too many," He was talking to himself now, but he was still looking me with sad eyes. "But I can't stop. I… I want to live too much."

"Me and Mewtwo, we are alike in too many ways. But he can at least control himself. I can't. You saw me, and look. You saw me for what I really am."

He moved so that he was sitting next to me, with his back against the wall. He was looking sideways at me, still with the sad eyes. It was an odd picture, his hands and blades wet with blood, but him looking so weak. I couldn't find the resolve to talk to him. I felt guilty for the dead humans. How many had had families? And Dace had simply ripped away their lives. How many had yet to _start_ a family. Some of the ambushers couldn't have been much older than eighteen.

I couldn't contradict anything Dace was saying, because I honestly thought that he was a monster. Where had my feelings for him gone? They'd been murdered, just like the men in the alley.

"You probably don't want me to carry you back. I'll call Mewtwo and tell him to pick you up."

He was right. I didn't want to be near Him.

Dace walked over to the payphone across the street, and swiped a credit card through the slot. He stayed on the phone for a few seconds, just long enough to tell Mewtwo where we were and that I needed to be taken back.

But as he walked back across the street, I saw a man rise up from behind one of the air ducts on the opposite building's roof.

(DACE! Behind you!)

Using his speed, he easily ran over to me before the first bullet hit.

His arms spread wide, he knelt over me, his eyes shut tight. The bullet tore through his sternum, and almost penetrated his overcoat, which he hadn't taken back. The man on the roof had been aiming at the person who was wearing the protective suit.

He'd mistaken me for Dace.

Dace's eyes were already glassing over as he knelt on the pavement. Then he keeled over forwards, landing face down on the ground.

I was speechless. What the hell was going on? I had just seen Dace get shot… After he had killed so many people… had the world gone insane? AND WHY WAS IT STILL SO QUIET!

I wanted to scream to the world to wake up and look at the death. People had died tonight. Was I next? Was the sniper about to shoot me?

Then I heard a scratching noise, and I saw Dace's hand grasp the ground firmly. He pushed himself up with his hand, looking me in the eye the whole time. He rose so that he was balanced on the balls of his feet.

(I know you… don't want me… to touch you right now-) He was speaking haltingly, his thoughts interrupted by laboured breathing. His sentence was stopped by him coughing up blood, which landed on the coat that was still wrapped around me, (- but please… bear with it.)

I was in awe. I saw the gaping hole located just above his chest spike, but he was still standing. I could see he had erected a small psychic barrier to stop any blood from flowing out. How could he focus that strongly, even when he was in so much pain, to erect a barrier? I couldn't even levitate when I had a small piece of glass in my foot. He picked me up, wrapping the coat tighter around me as he did so.

The second bullet whined in, but Dace batted it out of the air, into the pavement. He began to walk, slowly at first, but faster than I could have limped. He began to hobble along at a brisk pace, and then another gunshot rang out. He raised his forearm, taking the slug on his blade. I heard the sharp screeching of metal on metal, then saw the blunted bullet fall onto the ground. Dace dodged another shot by stepping backwards, then cut the next bullet in half.

"If – hah – If I had known – hah – where he was…guh *cough* huh… you shoulda told me which building-" Before dace could get any further, Dace broke down into a coughing fit, and his mental barrier temporarily broke. His blood spilled outwards, dowsing the hem of my dress. It erected itself once more, but only after a significant amount of blood spilled onto the pavement. And before the coughing had started, had Dace been trying to tell a joke? This was hardly a moment of levity!

"Shit… I can't take you much further… so – guhok – I need to tell you…" He was choking on his own blood. Oh my god. "I… honest to god enjoyed our time together. Look – HUK – if we don't see each –ugh – each other again – hungh – I can't explain it…"

"If this doesn't work, I don't deserve to wake up."

Then he dropped me, and the last thing I saw before he teleported me was some men in weird suits running around a corner, and Dace on his knees, his front covered with blood.

"DACE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, as I landed on the bed in my room in the hotel. Mewtwo burst into my room through the door, and caught sight of the blood on my dress. He noticed the coat that was still wrapped around me, and asked where Dace was. It was the first time I had seen him worried.

"I – oh my god he's dead, he's gone. Dace is dead Mewtwo."

(Where is he?)

"Gone… he's gone… oh dear lord…"

(WHERE IS HE?)

The walls cracked and the room shook under the force of Mewtwo's psychic waves.

"I don't know… I don't know anymore…"

**Author's Note: So, this is a quick chapter. It ****measures something like 2,210 words. This is the product of a couple of weeks work. I was told to work quicker, and this is the result. Also, Chris wanted a birthday pressie, so this is for him as well.**

**Dace: So you killed me?  
Benstudios: That remains to be seen.  
Dace: I swear to god, if you killed me, I am going to kill you back.  
Benstudios: You forgot who the author is.  
Dace: Dude. I don't care.  
Benstudios: Oh.  
*Benstudios runs away from Dace incredibly fast, and he – doesn't escape. OI! Dace gimme back my laptop! Hey! Using psychic powers isn't fair!*  
****A voice from the heavens:*Sigh* I'm glad I have MY laptop. Sorry 'bout that folks...um...Ben is~...preoccupied at the moment so I'll go on...  
****Chris*Walking down the hall as Ben whizzes by*: WHAT THE...!  
*****Dace goes by and turns him in circles*  
****Chris:FUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!  
*****Looks to the two when he stops*  
****Chris: I hate that censor.  
****Dace: GET BACK HERE YOU RUNT!  
****Ben: AHH! SOMEONE HELP ME!  
****Chris: *Runs after* HEY! DO I NEED TO GET MY F*bleep*ING RAIL GUN ON YOU TWO!  
****Charlotte*Peeks out and sees the three running down the hall and proceeds to Face palm*: Oh good lord...**


	11. When you wake up, you want to die

**Author's Note: Been a while… sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon cuz I don't have enough money.**

**Benstudios: OKAY. FINE. You aren't dead Dace.  
*Dace looks at where ben is tied to a chair, then slaps him across the face.*  
Dace: I don't believe you.  
Benstudios: DUDE! You just freakin' slapped me. I'm pretty sure that means you're alive.  
*Dace thinks about this for one second, then slaps Ben again.*  
Dace: How do I know that this isn't just my dying consciousness making use of its dying moments to exact revenge on the one who killed me?  
Benstudios: Are you an idiot? I'm pretty sure I designed you to be smarter than this.  
*Dace slaps Ben again.*  
Dace: I'm asking the questions here. Now, answer my question.  
Benstudios: There is no way to answer it. I can, however, tell you a theory I have on this subject.  
Dace: Do so. Quickly.  
Benstudios: Your brain has slowly eroded after reading so much manga that it was bad for yourself, and you are just off the verge of being a dribbling idiot.  
Dace: I'm pretty sure you read all that manga.  
*Dace unties Ben.*  
Dace: I just needed an excuse to hit you.  
Benstudios: *sigh* Okay, let's just get this next chapter done.  
*Chris walks in*  
Chris: You into bondage now?  
Ben: MOVING ON!  
Inside the minds of Chris, Charlotte and Jess: He didn't deny it…  
Ben: I deny it fervently.  
Chris, Charlotte and Jess: HE READS MINDS!**

**Dace's POV**

What the… Where was I?

I had this strange feeling that I was floating, and there was something strapped to my face. It took me a while, but I managed to open my eyes a crack. Through my eye lashes, my hair, and the wavy surface of the tank I was in, I managed to see moving things just outside. I closed my eyes again, looking into myself this time.

Ugh… How had I gotten here…?

My thoughts were a mess, I couldn't focus on any questions long enough to answer them. I tried to move my arm, but my brain just wouldn't – or couldn't – make the connection between my muscles and my mind. I tried again, and I think one of my fingers twitched.

_Come ON!_

My arm rose a fraction. It rose slowly, but it rose nonetheless. I'd made the connection.

My mind sped up, and as it did my thoughts slowed from a blur to a more stable speed. First things first.

I snapped my eyes open, this time able to take a good look at my surroundings. I was in some kind of laboratory, a breathing apparatus strapped over my face so that I wouldn't drown. I was suspended in a tank of some kind of orangey liquid. I moved my face slightly to the side, and saw scientists scurrying around, looking at my tank every now and then. Looking forwards again, I noticed that there was a door leading to some stairs. I lowered my arm and did a quick system check, seeing if my legs were moving and if I could use any strength at all.

I realised that my right arm was completely healed, and that there was a new scar in my stomach. That was probably from the bullet that had put me in here.

Wait a minute…

Oh shit.

_Outside the tank…_

"The subject is moving. Repeat, the subject has regained motion and cognitive functions."

All the scientists hurried to different stations, and one scampered up the stairs at the front of the room holding a notepad. He sprinted into through the winding underground corridors and burst into a massive room.

"The subject is awake sir," The scientists said in between pants, "He is already moving and his heart rate is spiking. He will be back to normal soon sir."

A powerful man rose from his seat – more like a throne – at the rear of the room and strode forwards, an Arcanine close on his heels. As he made his way to the laboratory, he half-listened to the scientists analysis on the recovery of his newest catch.

"It's healing rate is phenomenal. A normal human would have died within minutes, no, seconds of the bullets impact, but he managed to recover in less than four days! Even with the healing properties of the fluid acting on him, his endurance and tenacity are off the charts. Also, he seemed to have a broken arm when we found him, and that had already nearly properly realigned. We found that it had been inflicted on the same day as the capture. Which means he can heal multiple fractures and bone breakages in less than two days."

"You mean to say that he took out an entire ambush team with only one arm?"

"Yes, sir. Also, it seems that it wasn't even his dominant arm. Neither was he wearing the coat that he usually has on. If he wasn't protecting another Pokémon, then we would not have captured him."

As the two entered the underground lab, the scientist broke away and scurried over to one of the monitoring consoles. The boss walked confidently towards the Pokémon suspended in front of him, staring him right in the eye.

_Inside the tank..._

I had recovered most of my strength in the few minutes of confusion my awakening had caused, and I was pretty sure that I had the power to break the glass that held me captive. I was about to test out my theory when a man in a business suit walked through the door. An Arcanine followed him, making the air shimmer with heat. The man walked up to the tank I was in, doing his best to stare me down. The problem was that most Pokémon only need to blink a quarter as much as humans, on account of our eyes being so biologically different. He evidently realised this and looked around at a scientist that was on the console nearest to me.

The way the other humans were acting around this man showed that he was the boss, which meant that all I had to do was…

I smashed my arm through the glass in front of me, ripping the cables that were attached to my arm out. The pressure of the liquid inside the tank caused all the glass to shatter, and I landed on my feet inside the remains of the tube. I stepped onto the ground, doing my best not to stagger. My legs were so much weaker than my arms for some reason. I looked up just in time to see the Arcanine use Extremespeed. It crashed into me, sending me flying. If I was fully recovered, I would have been able to stop the attack, but all I could do was dig my elbow blades into the concrete to stop myself from crashing into a wall.

I lashed out with a Psycho cut, and managed to hit the Arcanine's face as it was about to hit me with another Extremespeed. I still wasn't strong enough though, and he hit me anyway. This time there was no stopping it, and we both careened into the rear of the room, with me hitting my chest spike's rear painfully on the wall.

I growled deep in the back of my throat in reflex. I slipped myself into a calmer state, then moved as fast as I could. I blinked, and opened my eyes to see everything else moving in slow motion. I shoved the Arcanine off of me, and while it was still in the air, I stood up and punched it into the ground. I blinked my eyes again and brought myself out of that state.

The man was clapping. What a disgusting human being. He had just seen his protector get beaten to the ground, and he was applauding. I stepped towards him, my blades sheathing themselves and then unsheathing themselves the way they do when I get incredibly agitated.

_Snik, shunk. Snik, shunk._

Oh man, if this was the guy that had ordered all of this, he was gonna die.

By mother fucking Arceus, he was gonna die.

I started to walk towards him, feeding power into my fists. I wasn't going to kill him quickly, fuck no. I was gonna beat him to death, with my fists wreathed in fire. As the Fire punch built, I felt a strange tingling at the back of my skull. I paid it no heed, and as soon as I was halfway there the fire around my fist and arm was licking at the ceiling.

As I reared back to punch his goddamn face in, though, the tingling in the back of my head increased. I also felt the fire draining away from my arm. I slowly, sluggishly raised my left arm and gingerly touched the back of my neck… finding three darts had been shot into me.

I stared in hatred at the man in front of me, and fell to the ground.

_An unknown amount of time later…_

Again, I woke up groggy. This time though, I found myself in a dark, cold, cave-like place. It was dark so I couldn't see anything, which had forced me to sense my surroundings instead. I couldn't feel anything under my feet, but I could feet a metal cuff linking them both together. My hands were also suspended slightly higher than my head on either side of me. Suddenly, a dim light went on and I found out where I was.

"Oh. Shit."

I was surrounded by Pokémon, maybe twenty. The light came from an Ampharos standing next to an Electivire. All the Pokémon around me were final evolutions, and there were two other Gallades. I closed my eyes against the light, then opened them when the light dimmed. There was some kind of commotion, and it sounded like they were deciding something important. The Gallades seemed to be rather quiet during the whole squabble.

Finally, a strange Pokémon emerged from in between the Pokémon. It was grey with pinkish lines traversing its body. I'd never seen one before in my life.

"Alright, fresh meat. Welcome to the green team." The strange thing said, in a low voice.

"You probably think that this is a bad dream or some shit, but surprise, it isn't. You better also recognise that I'm the boss of this place, and that you are gonna be the lowest shit here, because you're also the newest."

Throughout its talk, I had been judging how far up the wall I was. I reckoned it was maybe a metre, but I knew that heights could be deceiving when viewed from above. I decided to risk it.

I began straining at the chains holding me, and found that by planting my feet against the wall, I could get a bit of leverage against them.

"You aren't gonna be breakin' outa them chains, son. You might be a bit buffer than those other Gallades here, but even I had a bit of trouble."

That grey Pokémon again. I looked him over, and decided that he probably would have been able to break these chains. His arms looked as wide as my head. I brought my legs higher up the wall, and kept on straining at the chains, trying to bring my arms out in front of me. Finally, after maybe a minute, I head an odd grinding. All the Pokémon that had been staring at me backed away hurriedly, and I was flung forwards. I had managed to break free, but the chains were still on. They were pretty well made, with each joint maybe an inch in diameter. I was now suspended by my feet, but now that I was on the ground it was easier to free myself. I stabbed my elbow blades into the ground, and using them as an anchor, I wrenched my legs towards my chest.

I cut the binding on my legs in half, and stood up. The grey Pokémon had its mouth opened, and seemed to be having trouble keeping it from hitting the floor. Before I had another moment to take stock of my situation, however, the interior of the cave was bathed in light. I shielded my eyes from this new intrusion. My eyes had just started adjusting, and for a moment I was blinded. When my eyes did refocus, though, I was wishing for blindness again.

I knew _exactly_ where I was.

No. No, no, no. I didn't want to do this again.

**Authors note: I am quite sorry for the late chapter. It's small as well, which is a very bad thing. I'll have to start the next chapter soonish, so I don't stop altogether.**

**Benstudios: Oh no, Dace, what are you going to do? What don't you want to do ever again?  
Dace: Oh, go away.**


End file.
